136P/Mueller

136P/Mueller
Discovery
Discovered byJean Mueller
Discovery sitePalomar Observatory
Discovery date24 September 1990
Designations
P/1990 S1
P/1998 K4
  • 1990 XIII, 1990l
  • Mueller 3
Orbital characteristics
Epoch5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5)
Observation arc34.27 years
Earliest precovery date17 September 1990
Number of
observations		712
Aphelion5.415 AU
Perihelion2.963 AU
Semi-major axis4.189 AU
Eccentricity0.29313
Orbital period8.562 years
Inclination9.427°
137.42°
Argument of
periapsis		225.31°
Mean anomaly13.998°
Last perihelion3 January 2025
Next perihelion22 October 2033
TJupiter2.934
Earth MOID1.986 AU
Jupiter MOID0.264 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
1.15 km (0.71 mi)
0.04 (assumed)
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		7.4
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		14.3

136P/Mueller, also known as Mueller 3, is a periodic comet in the Solar System.

Observational history

Jean Mueller discovered the comet on exposed photographic plates taken by the Palomar Observatory on the night of 24 September 1990. At the time, it was a diffuse 18th-magnitude object in the constellation Cetus. Within a couple of days after discovery, Harold Holt found precovery images taken as early as 17 September. Orbital calculations by Edward L. G. Bowell and Daniel W. E. Green later indicated that Mueller's new find is a periodic comet.

James V. Scotti later successfully recovered the comet on 24 May 1998.

Physical characteristics

Assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04, the comet's nucleus is estimated to have an effective radius of 1.2 ± 0.2 km (0.75 ± 0.12 mi).

Notes

  1. ↑ Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 1h 38.8m , δ = –2° 13′

References

  1. 1 2 J. Mueller; C. Brewer; J. D. Mendenhall (26 September 1990). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet Mueller (1990l)". IAU Circular. 5102 (1).
  2. ↑ "136P/Mueller – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "136P/Mueller Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 E. Bowell; H. E. Holt; H. R. Holt; C. M. Olmstead; J. A. Brown (28 September 1990). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet Mueller (1990l)". IAU Circular. 5105 (1). Bibcode:1990IAUC.5105....1B.
  5. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 136P/Mueller 3 (90001055) on 2033-Oct-22" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-04-16. (JPL#K253/25 Soln.date: 2026-Mar-09)
  6. ↑ C. Snodgrass; A. Fitzsimmons; S. C. Lowry; P. Weissman (2011). "The size distribution of Jupiter Family comet nuclei" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 414 (1): 458–469. arXiv:1101.4228. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.414..458S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18406.x.
  7. ↑ G. W. Kronk; M. Meyer; D. A. J. Seargent (2017). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 6: 1983–1993. Cambridge University Press. pp. 532–534. ISBN 978-0-521-87216-4.
  8. ↑ D. W. Green (30 October 1990). "Periodic Comet Mueller (1990l)". IAU Circular. 5126 (2). Bibcode:1990IAUC.5126....2G.
  9. ↑ J. V. Scotti; S. Nakano (26 May 1998). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Comet P/1998 K4 (Mueller 3)". IAU Circular. 6919 (1). Bibcode:1998IAUC.6919....1S.
  10. ↑ E. M. Epifani; P. Palumbo; M. T. Capria; et al. (2008). "The distant activity of Short Period Comets II" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 390 (1): 265–280. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.390..265M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13718.x.