C/1864 R1 (Donati)

For the other comets discovered by Giovanni Battista Donati, see Comet Donati (disambiguation).
C/1864 R1 (Donati)
Discovery
Discovered byGiovanni B. Donati
Discovery siteFlorence, Italy
Discovery date10 September 1864
Designations
1864 I[1]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch28 July 1864 (JD 2402080.8118)
Observation arc29 days
Number of
observations		20
Perihelion0.6261 AU
Eccentricity~1.000
Inclination134.982°
176.881°
Argument of
periapsis		346.095°
Last perihelion28 July 1864
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		7.0

Comet Donati, formally designated as C/1864 R1, is a parabolic comet discovered in 1864. It was the last of five comets discovered by Italian astronomer, Giovanni Battista Donati.[3]

Discovery and observations

The comet was already on its outbound flight when it was first spotted by Giovanni Battista Donati on the night of 10 September 1864, where it was initially located within the constellation Leo Minor.[a] As a result, further observations of the comet became increasingly difficult as it slowly faded away, leading to astronomers being unable to obtain its precise orbital elements.[4] The last known observation of the comet was recorded on 20 October 1864.[4]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 10h 23.3m , δ = 35° 21′[4]

Citations

  1. ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  2. ^ "C/1864 R1 (Donati) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Giovanni Battista Donati". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b c G. W. Kronk (1999). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 2: 1800–1899. Cambridge University Press. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-0-521-58505-7.
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