335P/Gibbs

335P/Gibbs
Discovery
Discovered byAlex R. Gibbs
Discovery date31 December 2008
Designations
P/2008 Y2
P/2016 A9
Gibbs 8
Orbital characteristics
Epoch21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc14.48 years
Earliest precovery date1 December 2008
Number of
observations		432
Aphelion5.534 AU
Perihelion1.620 AU
Semi-major axis3.577 AU
Eccentricity0.54700
Orbital period6.765 years
Inclination7.299°
330.79°
Argument of
periapsis		162.33°
Mean anomaly174.27°
Last perihelion12 August 2022
Next perihelion19 May 2029
TJupiter2.833
Earth MOID0.653 AU
Jupiter MOID0.164 AU
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		17.0

335P/Gibbs is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It last came to perihelion in August 2022. Together with 266P/Christensen, it was proposed as the source of the 1977 "Wow! Signal", however this was later disproven by a follow-up study in 2020, where it was found out to be likely a maser-like flare from small hydrogen clouds in interstellar space instead.

Notes

  1. ↑ Observation arc from the Minor Planet Center database covering dates from 1 December 2008 until 27 May 2023.

References

  1. ↑ A. R. Gibbs; E. Beshore; T. Spahr; et al. (January 2009). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs)". IAU Circular. 9008 (1). Bibcode:2009IAUC.9008....1G.
  2. ↑ "Periodic Comet Names and Designations". Planetary Data System: Small Body Node. NASA. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  3. ↑ "335P/Gibbs – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "335P/Gibbs Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  5. ↑ S. Nakano (9 February 2016). "NK 3062: 335P/Gibbs". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 335P/Gibbs (90001318) on 2029-May-19" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 19 April 2026. (JPL#39 Soln.date: 2023-Jun-01)
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ A. Méndez; K. O. Ceballos; J. I. Zuluaga (2020). "Arecibo Wow! I: An Astrophysical Explanation for the Wow! Signal". arXiv:2408.08513 [astro-ph.HE].