C/1937 P1 (Hubble)

C/1937 P1 (Hubble)
Discovery
Discovered byEdwin P. Hubble
Discovery siteMount Wilson Observatory
Discovery date4 August 1937
Designations
1936 V, 1937g
Orbital characteristics
Epoch8 November 1936 (JD 2428480.5)
Observation arc85 days
Number of
observations		58
Aphelion~140 AU
Perihelion1.954 AU
Semi-major axis71.039 AU
Eccentricity0.97249
Orbital period~600 years
Inclination11.581°
97.796°
Argument of
periapsis		147.49°
Mean anomaly–0.010°
Last perihelion14 November 1936
Next perihelion~2530s
TJupiter1.759
Physical characteristics
13.5
(1937 apparition)

Comet Hubble, formally designated C/1937 P1, is a long-period comet with a roughly 600-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first and only comet discovered by astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Observational history

The comet was already on its outbound flight when it was first spotted in August 1937 as a magnitude 13.5 object in the constellation Aquarius. Initially, the comet was reported to be diffuse without a central condensation or nucleus. It is the fourth comet discovered in 1937.

Follow-up observations were noticeably difficult due to its apparent close proximity to the Sun and low altitude over the horizon. Despite being faint in the entirety of its visibility, numerous observations were conducted at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa. By 7 September 1937, the comet continued to fade at apparent magnitude 14.5 as reported from the Crossley telescope. C/1937 P1 was last seen on 28 October 1937.

Orbit

The first orbital calculations were made by L. E. Cunningham and A. D. Maxwell on 9 August 1937, and the comet was later known to have an elliptical orbit by 1938. At one point, it was briefly considered to be the same object as 9P/Tempel, which at the time was considered lost. Further calculations in 1952 showed that the comet came to perihelion on 14 November 1936, about nine months prior to discovery, and has a long-periodic orbit of about 600 years.

Notes

  1. ↑ Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 22h 49.3m , δ = –21° 00′

References

  1. 1 2 E. P. Hubble; H. Shapley (5 August 1937). E. Strömgren (ed.). "New Comet". IAU Circular (673): 1.
  2. ↑ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "C/1937 P1 (Hubble) – JPL Small-Body Database Browser". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ↑ G. van Biesbroeck (October 1937). "Comet Notes". Popular Astronomy. 45: 437–438. Bibcode:1937PA.....45..437V.
  5. 1 2 A. Pryzybylski (1952). "Definitive Orbit of Comet 1937 g (Hubble)". Journal des Observateurs. 35: 113–120. Bibcode:1952JO.....35..113P.
  6. 1 2 3 4 G. W. Kronk (2009). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 4: 1933–1959. Cambridge University Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-521-58507-1.
  7. ↑ F. L. Whipple (September 1937). "The Comets of 1937". The Scientific Monthly. 45 (3): 281–284. JSTOR 16438.
  8. 1 2 3 A. C. D. Crommelin (1938). "Comets" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 98 (4): 347–350. doi:10.1093/mnras/98.4.347.
  9. ↑ G. van Biesbroeck (1938). "Observations of Comets at the Yerkes Observatory". The Astronomical Journal. 47: 157–163. Bibcode:1938AJ.....47..157V. doi:10.1086/105506.
  10. ↑ H. M. Jeffers (1937). "Comet Notes". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 49 (291): 271–273. Bibcode:1937PASP...49..271J. doi:10.1086/124845.
  11. ↑ E. P. Hubble; L. E. Cunningham; J. P. Möller (1937). "Comet Notes". The Observatory. 60: 251. Bibcode:1937Obs....60..246.