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C/1999 T1 (McNaught–Hartley) is a near-parabolic long-period comet, discovered by Robert H. McNaught and Malcolm Hartley at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1999.[4]

Quick Facts Discovery, Discovered by ...
C/1999 T1 (McNaught-Hartley)
Discovery[1]
Discovered byRobert H. McNaught
Malcolm Hartley
Discovery siteSiding Spring Observatory
Discovery date7 October 1999
Designations
Comet McNaught-Hartley
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch2 December 2000 (JD 2451880.5)
Observation arc787 days (2.15 years)
Number of
observations
661
Aphelion16,247 AU
Perihelion1.172 AU
Semi-major axis8,124 AU
Eccentricity0.99985
Orbital period732,246 years
Inclination79.975°
182.483°
Argument of
periapsis
344.758°
Last perihelion13 December 2000
TJupiter0.234
Earth MOID0.19397 AU
Jupiter MOID3.41621 AU
Physical characteristics
1–10 days
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
8.3
Close

Observations

Comet McNaught–Hartley was a magnitude 15 object upon discovery on October 7, 1999.[4] Gas emissions were measured in x-ray light by the Chandra observatory (alongside C/1999 S4 (LINEAR)) between 8–14 January 2001.[5][6] Observations of its coma between January 26 and February 5, 2001 show that the nucleus has a rotation period between 1 and 10 days.[7]

Encounter with the Ulysses probe

Research published in 2004 found that the Ulysses spacecraft had likely detected ions from the comet tail of C/1999 T1. This was the spacecraft's second encounter with a comet tail, after Comet Hyakutake in 1996.[8][9]

See also

References

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