36P/Whipple

36P/Whipple
Discovery
Discovered by	Fred Lawrence Whipple
Discovery date	October 15, 1933
Designations
Alternative designations	1926 VIII; 1933 IV; 1941 III;; 1948 VI; 1955 VIII; 1963 II;; 1970 XIV; 1978 VIII; 1986 XII;; 1994 XXXII
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	5.241 AU
Perihelion	3.089 AU
Semi-major axis	4.165 AU
Eccentricity	0.2583
Orbital period	8.501 a
Inclination	9.9345°
Last perihelion	May 31, 2020; December 30, 2011; July 6, 2003
Next perihelion	2028-Nov-04

36P/Whipple is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It is the lowest numbered Quasi-Hilda comet.^[4] It passed 0.25 AU (37 million km) from Jupiter in June 1922.^[2]

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 4.5 kilometers in diameter^[2] or 5.1 kilometers. The rotational period was estimated to be about 40 hours.^[5]

References

^ MPC
^ ^a ^b ^c "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 36P/Whipple" (2022-03-06 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
^ "Horizons Batch for 36P/Whipple (90000453) on 2028-Nov-04" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2022-06-27. (JPL#23 Soln.date: 2022-Mar-09)
^ Toth, I. (March 2006). "The quasi-Hilda subgroup of ecliptic comets - an update". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 448 (3): 1191–1196. Bibcode:2006A&A...448.1191T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053492.
^ Snodgrass, C.; Lowry, S. C.; Fitzsimmons, A. (April 2008). "Optical observations of 23 distant Jupiter Family Comets, including 36P/Whipple at multiple phase angles". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 385 (2): 737–756. arXiv:0712.4204. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.385..737S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12900.x.