49P/Arend–Rigaux

49P/Arend–Rigaux is a periodic comet with a 6.75-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first of three comets discovered by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend and the only one for Fernand Rigaux.

Key facts

Comet.name: 49P/Arend–Rigaux
Comet.image: Comet Arend–Rigaux.jpg
Comet.caption: Comet Arend–Rigaux imaged by George van Biesbroeck from the Yerkes Observatory on 10 February 1951.
Comet.discoverer: Sylvain ArendFernand Rigaux
Comet.discovery_site: Royal Observatory of Belgium
Comet.discovery_date: 5 February 1951
Comet.mpc_name: P/1951 C2, P/1958 B1
Comet.epoch: 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5)
Comet.observation_arc: 74.31 years
Comet.earliest_precovery_date: 8 January 1951
Comet.obs: 4,700
Comet.perihelion: 1.431 AU

Article

12 sections

Contents

Observational history
Discovery
Physical characteristics
Nucleus size
Rotation
Other features
Orbit
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links

49P/Arend–Rigaux is a periodic comet with a 6.75-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first of three comets discovered by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend and the only one for Fernand Rigaux.

== Observational history == === Discovery === While on a routine search for new asteroids in the sky, Sylvain Arend and Fernand Rigaux discovered a new comet on the night of 5 February 1951. It was a diffuse 11th-magnitude object within the constellation Canis Minor.