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Comet Holmes

comet

Key facts

Discovered by: Edwin Holmes
Discovery date: 6 November 1892
Mpc designation: P/1892 V1, P/1899 L1, P/1964 O1
Alternative designations: 1892 III, 1899 II, 1906 III, 1964 X, 1972 I, 1979 IV, 1986 V, 1993 VII, 1892f, 1899d, 1906f, 1964i, 1971b, 1979f, 1986f, 1993i
Epoch: 21 November 2025 ( JD 2461000.5)
Aphelion: 5.194 AU
Perihelion: 2.090 AU
Semi major axis: 3.642 AU
Orbital period: 6.951 years
Inclination: 19.005°
Longitude of ascending node: 326.60°
Argument of periapsis: 24.603°
Mean anomaly: 246.31°
Last perihelion: 19 February 2021
Next perihelion: 31 January 2028
Earth moid: 1.073 AU
Jupiter moid: 0.481 AU
Mean radius: 1.71 km (1.06 mi)

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

Comet Holmes /ˈhoʊmz/ (official designation: 17P/Holmes) is a periodic comet in the Solar System, discovered by the British amateur astronomer Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892. Although normally a very faint object, Holmes became notable during its October 2007 return when it temporarily brightened by a factor of a million, in what was the largest known outburst by a comet, and became visible to the naked eye. It also briefly became the largest object in the Solar System, as its coma (the thin dissipating dust ball around the comet) expanded to a diameter greater than that of the Sun (although its mass remained minuscule). Between 1857–2106 perihelion remains between 2.05–2.36 AU.

Discovery