C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS |
| Discovery date | 4 December 2013 |
| Orbital characteristics[1][2] | |
| Epoch | 20 December 2015 (JD 2457376.5) |
| Observation arc | 4.28 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 17 October 2013 |
| Number of observations | 539 |
| Aphelion | ~7,960 AU (inbound) |
| Perihelion | 1.314 AU |
| Semi-major axis | ~3,980 AU (inbound) |
| Eccentricity | 0.99967 (inbound) 1.00047 (outbound) |
| Inclination | 163.23° |
| 130.95° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 164.46° |
| Mean anomaly | –0.003° |
| Last perihelion | 20 April 2016 |
| Earth MOID | 0.309 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.084 AU |
| Physical characteristics[4][5] | |
| Dimensions | 3.4–7.4 km (2.1–4.6 mi) |
Mean diameter | 5.4 km (3.4 mi) |
| 24.02±02 hours | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.7 |
| 6.1 (2016 apparition)[3] | |
C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) is a hyperbolic comet observed through telescopes between October 2013 and January 2018.[2][3] It is one of many comets discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey.
Physical characteristics
Nucleus size
Its nucleus has an estimated effective diameter of 5.4 km (3.4 mi).[4]
Rotation period
Photometric observations conducted in 2016 initially indicated that the comet has a rotation period of 11.95±0.36 hours.[6] Revised geometric models in 2024 revealed that the comet has a longer rotation period of 24.02±0.2 hours.[5]
Chemical composition
Ground observations conducted at the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) detected emissions of carbon atoms (C
2, C
3), cyanogens (CN), and amides (NH
2) within the coma.[7]
References
- ^ "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) in epoch 1800 and 2200". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 June 2025. (Solution using the Solar System's barycenter (Sun+Jupiter). Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
- ^ a b "C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Observation list for C/2013 X1". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ a b D. C. Jewitt (2022). "Destruction of Long-period Comets". Astronomical Journal. 164 (4): 158–166. arXiv:2208.04469. Bibcode:2022AJ....164..158J. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ac886d.
- ^ a b O. Shubina; E. Zubko; V. Kleshchonok; et al. (2024). "Dust properties and their variations in comet C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS)" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 687: 297–309. Bibcode:2024A&A...687A.297S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202449145.
- ^ F. Manzini; V. Oldani; R. Behrend; et al. (2016). "Comet C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS): Spin axis and rotation period". Planetary and Space Science. 129: 108–117. Bibcode:2016P&SS..129..108M. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2016.06.006.
- ^ O. Shubina; O. Ivanova; D. Petrov; et al. (2024). "Pre-perihelion observations of long-period comet C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS)" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 528 (4): 7027–7036. Bibcode:2024MNRAS.528.7027S. doi:10.1093/mnras/stae441.
External links
- C/2013 X1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
- C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS) at Seiichi Yoshida's website
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