Comet McKenzie–Russell, formally designated as C/1989 Y2, is a hyperbolic comet that was discovered by Australian astronomers, Patricia McKenzie and Kenneth S. Russell on December 1989.
Discovery and observations
Robert H. McNaught reported the discovery of a new comet that Patricia McKenzie found on photographic plates that Kenneth S. Russell took on 21 December 1989.[1] Prediscovery images from Japan were taken in 19 December 1989 but went unnoticed until the next year.[4] Orbital calculations of the comet revealed it was already on its outbound flight as it had reached perihelion a month before discovery, and as a result it continued to fade away in the following days.[5] It was last observed on 24 January 1990.[6]
References
- ^ a b B. G. Marsden (26 December 1989). "Comet McKenzie–Russell (1989f1)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4930.
- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "C/1989 Y2 (McKenzie–Russell) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ B. G. Marsden (4 January 1990). "Comet McKenzie–Russell (1989f1)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4938. Bibcode:1990IAUC.4938....2S.
- ^ J. Svoren (1998). "Comet astrometry made at the Skalnate Pleso Observatory in the year 1990". Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnate Pleso Supplement. 28 (1): 73–81. Bibcode:1998CoSkS..28...73S.
- ^ "Observation list for C/1989 Y2". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
External links
- C/1989 Y2 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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