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C/1847 T1 (Mitchell)

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C/1847 T1 (Mitchell)
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byMaria Mitchell
Discovery siteNantucket, Massachusetts
Discovery date1 October 1847
Designations
Miss Mitchell's Comet
1847 VI[3]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch26 October 1847
(JD 2395960.5)
Observation arc74 days
Number of
observations
77
Perihelion0.329 au
Eccentricity1.000172
Inclination108.13°
192.967°
Argument of
periapsis
276.609°
Last perihelion14 November 1847

Miss Mitchell's Comet, formally designated as C/1847 T1, is a non-periodic comet that American astronomer Maria Mitchell discovered in 1847.[5]

The discovery was initially credited to Francesco de Vico. Vico, observing from Rome, was the first to report the comet's discovery in Europe. However, Mitchell observed the comet two days before Vico did, so she became recognized as the comet's discoverer.[5][6]

The comet had a weakly hyperbolic orbit solution while inside the planetary region of the Solar System.[4] An orbit solution when the comet is outside of the planetary region shows that the comet is bound to the Sun.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Maria Mitchell: America's first female astronomer". www.noaa.gov. NOAA. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Maria Mitchell". Association for Women in Science. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "C/1847 T1 (Mitchell) – JPL Small-Body Database Browser". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Maria Mitchell Discovers a Comet". This Month in Physics History. American Physical Society. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ^ "About". Maria Mitchell Association. Retrieved 1 November 2012.