Comet Borrelly /bɒˈrɛli/ or Borrelly's Comet (official designation: 19P/Borrelly) is a comet with a period of 6.85 years that was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001. The comet last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on February 1, 2022[1][8] and will next come to perihelion on December 11, 2028.[2]

19P/Borrelly
Discovery
Discovered byAlphonse Borrelly
Discovery dateDecember 28, 1904
Designations
1905 II; 1911 VIII; 1918 IV;
1925 VIII; 1932 IV; 1953 IV;
1960 V; 1967 VIII; 1974 VII;
1981 IV; 1987 XXXIII; 1994 XXX
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 2022-08-09 (JD 2459800.5)
Aphelion5.90 AU[1]
Perihelion1.306 AU[1]
3.61 AU
Eccentricity0.6377
6.85 yr
Inclination29.30°
2028-Dec-11[2]
February 1, 2022 (last)[1]
Earth MOID0.36 AU (54 million km)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions8×4×4 km[3]
2.4 km[4]
Mass2×1013 kg[5]
Mean density
0.3 g/cm3[6]
Albedo0.03[7]
Perihelion distance
at recent epochs
[1]
Epoch Perihelion
(AU)
2028 1.310[2]
2022 1.306
2015 1.349
2008 1.355
19P/Borrelly closest Earth approach on 2028-Dec-05
Date & time of
closest approach
Earth distance
(AU)
Sun distance
(AU)
Velocity
wrt Earth
(km/s)
Velocity
wrt Sun
(km/s)
Uncertainty
region
(3-sigma)
Reference
2028-Dec-05 19:12 ± 6 min 0.413 AU (61.8 million km; 38.4 million mi; 161 LD) 1.31 AU (196 million km; 122 million mi; 510 LD) 17.3 33.3 ± 41 thousand km Horizons

Deep Space 1 returned images of the comet's nucleus from 3400 kilometers away. At 45 meters per pixel, it was the highest resolution view ever seen of a comet.[9]

Discovery

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The comet was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly during a routine search for comets at Marseilles, France on December 28, 1904.

Exploration

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Deep Space 1 flyby

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Animation of Deep Space 1's trajectory from 24 October 1998 to 31 December 2003
   Deep Space 1 ·   9969 Braille ·   Earth ·   19P/Borrelly

On September 21, 2001 the spacecraft Deep Space 1, which was launched to test new equipment in space, performed a flyby of Borrelly. It was steered toward the comet during the extended mission of the craft, and presented an unexpected bonus for the mission scientists. Despite the failure of a system that helped determine its orientation, Deep Space 1 managed to send back to Earth what were, at the time, the best images and other science data from a comet.

 
The orbits of three periodic comets, 1P/Halley, 19P/Borrelly and 153P/Ikeya-Zhang, set against the orbits of the outer planets.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e MPC
  2. ^ a b c "Horizons Batch for 19P/Borrelly (90000304) on 2028-Dec-11" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-07-06. (JPL#K222/14 Soln.date: 2023-May-25)
  3. ^ Weaver, H. A.; Stern, S.A.; Parker, J. Wm. (2003). "Hubble Space Telescope STIS Observations of Comet 19P/BORRELLY during the Deep Space 1 Encounter". The Astronomical Journal. 126 (1). The American Astronomical Society: 444–451. Bibcode:2003AJ....126..444W. doi:10.1086/375752.
  4. ^ "19P/Borrelly: Facts & Figures". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  5. ^ Using the volume of an ellipsoid of 8x4x4km * a rubble pile density of 0.3 g/cm3 yields a mass (m=d*v) of 2.0E+13 kg.
  6. ^ D. T. Britt; G. J. Consol-magno SJ; W. J. Merline (2006). "Small Body Density and Porosity: New Data, New Insights" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVII. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  7. ^ Robert Roy Britt (2001-11-29). "Comet Borrelly Puzzle: Darkest Object in the Solar System". Space.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  8. ^ Seiichi Yoshida (2021-04-03). "19P/Borrelly". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  9. ^ Beatty, Kelly (25 June 2004). "Meet Comet Borrelly". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
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Numbered comets
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18D/Perrine–Mrkos
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20D/Westphal