C/1864 O1 (Donati–Toussaint)

For the other comets discovered by Giovanni Battista Donati, see Comet Donati (disambiguation).
C/1864 O1 (Donati–Toussaint)
Discovery[1]
Discovered byGiovanni B. Donati
Carlo Toussaint
Discovery siteFlorence, Italy
Discovery date23 July 1864
Designations
1864 III[2]
Orbital characteristics[3][4]
Epoch16 October 1864 (JD 2402160.5)
Observation arc213 days
Number of
observations		57
Aphelion2,900 AU
Perihelion0.931 AU
Semi-major axis1,450 AU
Eccentricity0.999358
Orbital period55,242 years
Inclination109.71°
33.666°
Argument of
periapsis		232.46°
Last perihelion11 October 1864
TJupiter–0.400
Physical characteristics[4]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		5.2
9.0
(1864 apparition)

Comet Donati–Toussaint, formally designated as C/1864 O1, is a non-periodic comet co-discovered by Italian astronomers, Giovanni Battista Donati and Carlo Toussaint in July 1864.

Discovery and observations

On the night of 23 July 1864, astronomers Giovanni Battista Donati and Carlo Toussaint spotted a new comet within the constellation Coma Berenices.[a] Their discovery was confirmed four days later on July 27.[4] Although it never came close to either the Sun or the Earth to allow itself to become a bright object, astronomers were able to observe it until 25 February 1865, and thus were able to determine its orbit with higher precision.[4]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 13h 06m , δ = 21° 15′[4]

Citations

  1. ^ M. Krüger. "Comet II, 1864". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 24: 223.
  2. ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  3. ^ "C/1864 O1 (Donati–Toussaint) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e G. W. Kronk (2003). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 2: 1800–1899. Cambridge University Press. pp. 329–330. ISBN 978-0-521-58505-7.


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