 The comet on 11 October 1909 by theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Charles Dillon Perrine &Antonín Mrkos |
| Discovery date | December 9, 1896 |
| Designations | |
| 1896 X1; 1896 VII; 1896g; 1909 P1; 1909 III; 1909b; 1955 U1; 1955 VII; 1955i; 1962 I; 1961h; 1968 VIII; 1968h | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 2002-09-03 (JD 2452520.5) |
| Aphelion | 5.8537 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.2872 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.5705AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.6395 |
| Orbital period | 6.75a |
| Inclination | 17.864° |
| Last perihelion | 2025-Jan-01?[1][2] (unobserved) |
| Next perihelion | ≈2032-Sep-21?[3] (Lost since 1969)[4] |
18D/Perrine–Mrkos is aperiodiccomet in theSolar System, originally discovered by the American-ArgentineastronomerCharles Dillon Perrine (Lick Observatory,California, United States) on December 9, 1896. For some time it was thought to be a fragment ofBiela's Comet.[5]
It was considered lost after the 1909 appearance, but was rediscovered by the Czech astronomerAntonín Mrkos (Skalnate Pleso Observatory,Slovakia) on October 19, 1955, using ordinary binoculars, it was later confirmed as 18D byLeland E. Cunningham (Leuschner Observatory,University of California,Berkeley).
The comet was last observed during the 1968 perihelion passage when it passed 0.3144 AU (47,030,000 km; 29,230,000 mi) from the Earth.[6] The comet has not been observed during the following perihelion passages:[1]
The next predicted perihelion passage would be in 2025[1][2] but the comet is currently consideredlost as it has not been seen since Jan 1969.[4]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)()| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 17P/Holmes | 18D/Perrine–Mrkos | Next 19P/Borrelly |
 | This comet-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
.png)
