53P/Van Biesbroeck

53P/Van Biesbroeck

Discovery
Discovered by	George Van Biesbroeck
Discovery date	September 1, 1954
Designations
Alternative designations	1954 IV; 1966 III; 1978 XXIV; 1991 VI
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	8.375 AU
Perihelion	2.414 AU
Semi-major axis	5.394 AU
Eccentricity	0.5526
Orbital period	12.53 yr
Inclination	6.6094°
Last perihelion	April 29, 2016[1] October 9, 2003
Next perihelion	2028-Dec-24.7[2]
Jupiter MOID	0.009 AU (1,300,000 km)

53P/Van Biesbroeck is a periodic comet 7 km in diameter.^[3] Its current orbital period is 12.53 years.

The comet was discovered by George Van Biesbroeck of Yerkes Observatory on 1 September 1954 while searching for the asteroid 1953 GC. The comet had an estimated apparent magnitude of 14.5 and appeared well condensed. The comet was then 1.85 AU from Earth and 2.86 AU from the Sun and had passed from its perigee, which took place on 17 August 1954. The comet was followed until 13 November 1955.^[4]

This comet and 42P/Neujmin are fragments of a parent comet that split around March 1845.^[5][6][7] The orbit of 53P/Van Biesbroeck has a Jupiter Minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of only 0.009 AU (1,300,000 km; 840,000 mi).^[3][8] The next perihelion passage is on Christmas Eve 24 December 2028.^[2] The comet is expected to brighten to about apparent magnitude 14.

The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 3.33–3.37 kilometers based on observations by Keck.^[9]

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 53P at Kronk's Cometography

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