114P/Wiseman–Skiff
Comet Wiseman–Skiff photographed by NEOWISE on 22 January 2020. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jennifer Wiseman Brian A. Skiff |
| Discovery site | Lowell Observatory |
| Discovery date | 28 December 1986 |
| Designations | |
| P/1986 Y1, P/1993 X2 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[3][4] | |
| Epoch | 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) |
| Observation arc | 33.38 years |
| Number of observations | 2,245 |
| Aphelion | 5.511 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.575 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.543 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.55545 |
| Orbital period | 6.67 years |
| Inclination | 18.289° |
| 271.03° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 172.75° |
| Mean anomaly | 168.12° |
| Last perihelion | 14 January 2020 |
| Next perihelion | 15 September 2026[2] |
| TJupiter | 2.772 |
| Earth MOID | 0.597 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.182 AU |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
Mean radius | 0.78 ± 0.05 km (0.485 ± 0.031 mi)[5] |
| 0.04 (assumed) | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 13.9 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 16.3 |
114P/Wiseman–Skiff is a Jupiter-family comet with a 6.67-year orbit around the Sun. It is the only comet discovered by Jennifer Wiseman and one of several by Brian A. Skiff.
Observational history
It was discovered by Jennifer Wiseman in January 1987 on two photographic plates that had been taken on 28 December 1986, by Brian A. Skiff of Lowell Observatory. Wiseman and Skiff confirmed the comet on 19 January 1987.
Aphelion is located near the orbit of Jupiter. On 25 February 2043, the comet will pass 0.179 AU (26.8 million km) from Jupiter.[3]
Physical characteristics
Based on observations conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope, the nucleus of Comet Wiseman–Skiff has a radius of 0.78±0.05 km, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[5]
Meteor shower
Comet 114P/Wiseman–Skiff is believed to have been the parent body of a meteor shower on Mars, and the source of the first meteor photographed from the planet,[7] which was taken by NASA's Spirit rover on 7 March 2004.[8]
References
- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 114P/Wiseman-Skiff (90000992) on 2026-Sep-15" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 6 July 2023. (JPL#K203/20 Soln.date: 2023-Jan-17)
- ^ a b c "114P/Wiseman–Skiff – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "114P/Wiseman–Skiff Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; H. A. Weaver; M. F. A'Hearn; L. Jorda (2009). "Properties of the nuclei and comae of 13 ecliptic comets from Hubble Space Telescope snapshot observations" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 508 (2): 1045–1056. Bibcode:2009A&A...508.1045L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811462. S2CID 125249770.
- ^ M. M. Knight; R. Kokotanekova; N. H. Samarasinha (2023). "Physical and Surface Properties of Comet Nuclei from Remote Observations". arXiv:2304.09309 [astro-ph.EP].
- ^ F. Selsis; M. T. Lemmon; J. Vaubaillon; J. F. Bell III (2005). "A Martian Meteor and its Parent Comet" (PDF). Nature. 435 (7042): 581. doi:10.1038/435581a. PMID 15931208. S2CID 4336487.
- ^ J. Vaubaillon; F. Selsis; M. T. Lemmon; J. F. Bell III (15–18 September 2006). Identification of the first Martian meteor. Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference. Oostmalle, Belgium. pp. 152–154. Bibcode:2006pimo.conf..151V. ISBN 2-87355-016-3.
External links
- 114P/Wiseman–Skiff at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 114P/Wiseman–Skiff at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography