Periodic comet.html |
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Periodic comets are defined for these purposes as those comets having orbital periods of less than 200 years (also known as "short-period comets") or which have been observed during more than a single perihelion passage (e.g. 153P/Ikeya-Zhang). (Note that "periodic comet" is also sometimes used to mean any comet with a periodic orbit, even if greater than 200 years.)
Periodic comets receive a permanent number prefix usually after the second perihelion passage, which is why there are a number of unnumbered periodic comets, such as P/2005 T5 (Broughton).
In nearly all cases, comets are named after their discoverer(s), but in a few cases such as 2P/Encke and 27P/Crommelin they were named for a person who calculated their orbits (the orbit computers). The orbits of periodic comets are especially tricky to calculate because of all the possible perturbations from every planet, and in the days before electronic computers some people dedicated their entire careers to this. Even so, quite a few comets were lost because their orbits are also affected by non-gravitational effects such as the release of gas and other material that forms the comet's coma and tail.
Periodic comets sometimes bear the same name repeatedly (e.g. the nine Shoemaker-Levy comets or the twenty-three NEAT comets); the IAU system distinguishes between them either through the number prefix or by the full designation (e. g. 181P and 192P are both "Comet Shoemaker-Levy"). In the literature, an informal numbering system is applied to periodic comets (skipping the non-periodic ones), thus 181P and 192P are known as Comet Shoemaker-Levy 6 and Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1, respectively. Non-periodic Shoemaker-Levy comets are interleaved in this sequence: C/1991 B1 between 2 and 3, C/1991 T2 between 5 and 6, C/1993 K1 and C/1994 E2 after Shoemaker-Levy 9.
In comet nomenclature, the letter before the "/" is either "C" (a non-periodic comet), "P" (a periodic comet), "D" (a comet which has been lost or has disintegrated), "X" (a comet for which no reliable orbit could be calculated —usually historical comets), or "A" for an object that was mistakenly identified as a comet, but is actually a minor planet.
Some lists retain the "C" prefix for comets of periods larger than about 30 years until their return is confirmed (e.g. C/2008 E1 (Catalina) vs. P/2008 E1 (Catalina 9)).
Contents |
Numbered periodic comets
Unnumbered periodic comets
| Comet | Discoverer(s) or Namesake |
|---|---|
| C/1468 S1 = C/1337 M1 | 1 |
| C/1861 J1 = C/1500 H1 | Tebbutt (1861) 1 |
| D/1884 O1 (Barnard 1) | Barnard |
| P/2001 W2 (BATTeRS) | BATTeRS |
| P/2005 V1 (Bernardi) | Bernardi |
| P/2008 J2 (Beshore) | Beshore (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
| D/1819 W1 (Blanpain) | Blanpain |
| P/2008 O3 (Boattini 1) | Boattini (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
| P/2008 T1 (Boattini 2) | Boattini (Mount Lemmon Survey) [5] |
| P/1984 A1 (Bradfield 1) | Bradfield |
| P/1989 A3 (Bradfield 2) | Bradfield |
| D/1886 K1 (Brooks 1) | Brooks |
| P/2005 T5 (Broughton) | Broughton |
| P/1999 V1 (Catalina 1) | Catalina Sky Survey (Hergenrother) |
| P/1999 XN120 (Catalina 2) | Catalina Sky Survey |
| P/2005 JQ5 (Catalina 3) | Catalina Sky Survey |
| P/2005 JY126 (Catalina 4) | Catalina Sky Survey |
| P/2005 N5 (Catalina 5) | Catalina Sky Survey |
| P/2007 C2 (Catalina 6) | Catalina Sky Survey [6] |
| P/2007 T6 (Catalina 7) | Catalina Sky Survey [7] |
| P/2007 VQ11 (Catalina 8) | Catalina Sky Survey [8] |
| P/2008 E1 (Catalina 9) | Catalina Sky Survey [9] |
| P/2004 EW38 (Catalina-LINEAR) | Catalina Sky Survey & LINEAR |
| P/2008 S1 (Catalina-McNaught) | Catalina Sky Survey & McNaught [10] |
| P/2005 JD108 (Catalina-NEAT) | Catalina Sky Survey & NEAT |
| P/2003 K2 (Christensen 1) | Christensen |
| P/2005 L4 (Christensen 3) | Christensen |
| P/2005 O2 (Christensen 5) | Christensen |
| P/2005 T2 (Christensen 6) | Christensen |
| P/2005 W2 (Christensen 7) | Christensen |
| P/2006 F2 (Christensen 8) | Christensen |
| P/2006 R2 (Christensen 9) | Christensen |
| P/2006 S1 (Christensen 10) | Christensen |
| P/2006 S4 (Christensen 11) | Christensen |
| P/2006 U5 (Christensen 12) | Christensen |
| P/2006 WY182 (Christensen 13) | Christensen |
| P/2007 B1 (Christensen 14) | Christensen [11] |
| P/2007 C1 (Christensen 15) | Christensen (Catalina Sky Survey) [12] |
| D/1894 F1 (Denning) | Denning |
| P/1921 H1 (Dubiago) | Dubiago |
| P/2007 H3 (Garradd 2) | Garradd [13] |
| P/2007 R4 (Garradd 3) | Garradd [14] |
| P/2008 R1 (Garradd 4) | Garradd [15] |
| P/1997 C1 (Gehrels 4) | Gehrels |
| P/2006 U7 (Gibbs 1) | Gibbs (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
| P/2006 W1 (Gibbs 2) | Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey) |
| P/2006 Y2 (Gibbs 3) | Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey) |
| P/2007 K2 (Gibbs 4) | Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey) [16] |
| P/2007 R2 (Gibbs 5) | Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey) [17] |
| P/2007 R3 (Gibbs 6) | Gibbs (Mount Lemmon Survey) [18] |
| P/2007 T4 (Gibbs 7) | Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey) [19] |
| P/2007 Q2 (Gilmore) | Gilmore |
| D/1978 R1 (Haneda-Campos) | Haneda & Campos |
| D/1952 B1 (Harrington-Wilson) | Harrington & Wilson |
| D/1766 G1 (Helfenzrieder) | Helfenzrieder |
| P/1999 D1 (Hermann) | Hermann |
| P/2006 D1 (Hill 1) | Hill (Catalina Sky Survey) |
| P/2006 S6 (Hill 2) | Hill |
| P/2007 V2 (Hill 4) | Hill (Mount Lemmon Survey) [20] |
| P/2008 L2 (Hill 5) | Hill (Catalina Sky Survey) |
| P/2008 T4 (Hill 6) | Hill (Catalina Sky Survey) [21] |
| P/1998 U3 (Jäger) | Jäger |
| P/1996 A1 (Jedicke 2) | Jedicke |
| P/1997 B1 (Kobayashi) | Kobayashi |
| P/2005 W3 (Kowalski 1) | Kowalski (Catalina Sky Survey) |
| P/2006 F1 (Kowalski 2) | Kowalski (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
| P/2007 T2 (Kowalski 3) | Kowalski (Catalina Sky Survey) [22] |
| P/1996 R2 (Lagerkvist) | Lagerkvist |
| P/1997 T3 (Lagerkvist-Carsenty) | Lagerkvist & Carsenty |
| P/2004 C1 (Larsen 2) | Larsen |
| P/2004 H2 (Larsen 3) | Larsen |
| P/2004 H3 (Larsen 4) | Larsen |
| P/2005 N3 (Larson 1) | Larson (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
| P/2007 R1 (Larson 2) | Larson (Mount Lemmon Survey) [23] |
| P/2007 V1 (Larson 3) | Larson (Catalina Sky Survey) [24] |
| P/2007 S2 (Lemmon) | Mount Lemmon Survey |
| P/1991 L3 (Levy 1) | Levy |
| P/2006 T1 (Levy 2) | Levy |
| D/1770 L1 (Lexell) | Lexell |
| P/1998 Y2 (Li 1) | Li |
| P/1999 E1 (Li 2) | Li |
| P/1998 G1 (LINEAR 1) | LINEAR |
| P/1998 VS24 (LINEAR 2) | LINEAR |
| P/1998 Y1 (LINEAR 3) | LINEAR |
| P/1999 G1 (LINEAR 5) | LINEAR |
| P/1999 S3 (LINEAR 6) | LINEAR |
| P/1999 U3 (LINEAR 7) | LINEAR |
| P/1999 XB69 (LINEAR 11) | LINEAR |
| P/1999 XS87 (LINEAR 8) | LINEAR |
| P/2000 G1 (LINEAR 12) | LINEAR |
| P/2000 G2 (LINEAR 13) | LINEAR |
| P/2000 D2 (LINEAR 14) | LINEAR |
| P/2000 R2 (LINEAR 15) | LINEAR |
| P/2001 CV8 (LINEAR 16) | LINEAR |
| P/2001 MD7 (LINEAR 17) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 A1 (LINEAR 18) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 A2 (LINEAR 19) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 B1 (LINEAR 20) | LINEAR |
| P/2001 YX127 (LINEAR 21) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 CW134 (LINEAR 22) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 AR2 (LINEAR 23) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 EJ57 (LINEAR 24) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 JN16 (LINEAR 25) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 T1 (LINEAR 26) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 T5 (LINEAR 27) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 F1 (LINEAR 28) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 H4 (LINEAR 29) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 HT15 (LINEAR 31) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 O2 (LINEAR 32) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 O3 (LINEAR 33) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 CE10 (LINEAR 34) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 R1 (LINEAR 35) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 U2 (LINEAR 36) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 U1 (LINEAR 37) | LINEAR |
| P/2002 LZ11 (LINEAR 38) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 UY275 (LINEAR 39) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 W1 (LINEAR 40) | LINEAR |
| P/2004 CB (LINEAR 41) | LINEAR |
| P/2004 HC18 (LINEAR 42) | LINEAR |
| P/2003 A1 (LINEAR 44) | LINEAR |
| P/2004 WR9 (LINEAR 45) | LINEAR |
| P/2004 X1 (LINEAR 46) | LINEAR |
| P/2005 Q4 (LINEAR 47) | LINEAR |
| P/2004 FY140 (LINEAR 48) | LINEAR |
| LINEAR | |
| P/2000 QJ46 (LINEAR 50) | LINEAR |
| P/2005 YQ127 (LINEAR 51) | LINEAR |
| P/2006 U1 (LINEAR 53) | LINEAR |
| P/2008 A2 (LINEAR 54) | LINEAR [25] |
| P/2008 R3 (LINEAR 55) | LINEAR [26] |
| P/2003 WC7 (LINEAR-Catalina) | LINEAR & Catalina Sky Survey |
| P/2004 V5 (LINEAR-Hill 1) | LINEAR & Hill |
| P/2008 QP20 (LINEAR-Hill 2) | LINEAR & Hill [27] |
| P/2001 BB50 (LINEAR-NEAT 1) | LINEAR & NEAT |
| P/2003 CP7 (LINEAR-NEAT 4) | LINEAR & NEAT |
| P/2003 XD10 (LINEAR-NEAT 5) | LINEAR & NEAT |
| P/2004 R3 (LINEAR-NEAT 6) | LINEAR & NEAT |
| P/2004 T1 (LINEAR-NEAT 7) | LINEAR & NEAT |
| P/2001 R6 (LINEAR-Skiff) | LINEAR & Skiff |
| P/2000 S4 (LINEAR-Spacewatch) | LINEAR & Spacewatch |
| P/1999 RO28 (LONEOS 1) | LONEOS |
| P/2000 S3 (LONEOS 2) | LONEOS |
| P/2001 OG108 (LONEOS 5) | LONEOS |
| P/2004 A1 (LONEOS 8) | LONEOS |
| P/2004 VR8 (LONEOS 9) | LONEOS |
| P/2005 GF8 (LONEOS 10) | LONEOS |
| P/2005 SB216 (LONEOS 11) | LONEOS |
| P/2006 Q2 (LONEOS 12) | LONEOS |
| P/2005 RV25 (LONEOS-Christensen) | LONEOS & Christensen |
| P/2005 XA54 (LONEOS-Hill) | LONEOS & Hill |
| P/1998 QP54 (LONEOS-Tucker) | LONEOS & Tucker |
| P/2008 U1 (McMillan) | McMillan |
| P/2004 K2 (McNaught 1) | McNaught |
| P/2004 R1 (McNaught 2) | McNaught |
| P/2005 J1 (McNaught 3) | McNaught |
| P/2005 K3 (McNaught 4) | McNaught |
| P/2005 L1 (McNaught 5) | McNaught |
| P/2005 Y2 (McNaught 6) | McNaught |
| P/2006 G1 (McNaught 7) | McNaught |
| P/2006 H1 (McNaught 8) | McNaught |
| P/2006 K2 (McNaught 9) | McNaught |
| P/2007 H1 (McNaught 10) | McNaught |
| P/2008 J3 (McNaught 12) | McNaught |
| P/2008 O2 (McNaught 13) | McNaught |
| P/1994 N2 (McNaught-Hartley) | McNaught & Hartley |
| P/1994 X1 (McNaught-Russell) | McNaught & Russell |
| P/1917 F1 (Mellish) | Mellish |
| P/1997 G1 (Montani) | Montani |
| P/2001 F1 (NEAT 1) | NEAT |
| P/2001 H5 (NEAT 2) | NEAT |
| P/2001 M10 (NEAT 5) | NEAT |
| P/2001 Q6 (NEAT 6) | NEAT |
| P/2001 T3 (NEAT 7) | NEAT |
| P/2002 K4 (NEAT 9) | NEAT |
| P/2002 O8 (NEAT 11) | NEAT |
| P/2002 X2 (NEAT 12) | NEAT |
| P/2003 E1 (NEAT 13) | NEAT |
| P/2003 F2 (NEAT 14) | NEAT |
| P/2003 QX29 (NEAT 15) | NEAT |