266P/Christensen
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Eric J. Christensen |
| Discovery site | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery date | 27 October 2006 |
| Designations | |
| P/2006 U5, P/2012 P1 | |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 26 December 2026 (JD 2461400.5) |
| Observation arc | 18.93 years |
| Number of observations | 908 |
| Aphelion | 4.733 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.324 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.529 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.34133 |
| Orbital period | 6.628 years |
| Inclination | 3.429° |
| 4.941° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 97.951° |
| Mean anomaly | 2.763° |
| Last perihelion | 19 April 2020 |
| Next perihelion | 7 December 2026 |
| TJupiter | 3.020 |
| Earth MOID | 1.351 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.526 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean radius | 1.66 km (1.03 mi)[4] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 11.0 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 15.9 |
266P/Christensen is a Encke-type comet with a 6.63-year orbit around the Sun. It will next come to perihelion in December 2026. It has been suggested as the source of the 1977 "Wow! Signal".[5]
Physical characteristics
Observations conducted by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in 2012 revealed that the nucleus of 266P has an upper limit no greater than 1.66 km (1.03 mi) in radius.[4]
References
- ^ E. J. Christensen; G. Hug; G. Sostero; et al. (29 October 2006). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet C/2006 U5 (Christensen)". IAU Circular (8768). Bibcode:2006IAUC.8768....1C.
- ^ a b "266P/Christensen – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "266P/Christensen Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ a b M. Solontoi; Ž. Ivezíc; M. Juríc (2012). "Ensemble properties of comets in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey". Icarus. 218 (1): 571–584. arXiv:1202.3999. Bibcode:2012Icar..218..571S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.10.008.
- ^ A. Paris; E. Davies (2015). "Hydrogen Clouds from Comets 266/P Christensen and P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs) are Candidates for the Source of the 1977 "WOW" Signal" (PDF). Washington Academy of Sciences. 101 (4): 25–32. arXiv:1706.04642. Bibcode:2017arXiv170604642P. JSTOR jwashacadscie.101.4.25.
External links
- 266P/Christensen at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 266P/Christensen at Seiichi Yoshida's website
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