 332P/Ikeya–Murakami photographed by theHubble Space Telescope in January 2016.[1] | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Kaoru Ikeya Shigeki Murakami |
| Discovery date | 3 November 2010 |
| Designations | |
| P/2010 V1, P/2015 Y2 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 2016 Jan. 13[2] |
| Observation arc | 124 days (fragment A)[3] |
| Perihelion | 1.573AU (q) |
| Eccentricity | 0.4904 |
| Orbital period | 5.42 yr[2] (1980 days) |
| Inclination | 9.387° |
| Last perihelion | 18 August 2021 (A)[4] (unobserved) |
| Next perihelion | 19 January 2027? (A)[5] 6 June 2027?? (F)[6] |
| EarthMOID | 0.59 AU (A)[3] |
| JupiterMOID | 0.46 AU (A)[3] 0.34 AU (F)[7] |
| Physical characteristics[8][9] | |
Mean radius | ≤ 2 km(original nucleus) ≤ 275 meters (A+C) ≤ 20 meters (F) |
| 0.04 (assumed) | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 5.2 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 12.5 |
332P/Ikeya–Murakami (P/2010 V1) is ashort-period comet with period of approximately 5.4 years[2] first identified independently by the two Japanese amateur astronomersKaoru Ikeya andShigeki Murakami on November 3, 2010.[10][11] As 332P/Ikeya–Murakami only approaches within 1.57 AU of the Sun, roughlyMars distance from the Sun, the fragmentation events may be a result of rapid rotation. The comet was last observed in October 2020 as during the 2021 perihelion passage the comet was only 7 degrees from the Sun. The comet will next come to perihelion in January 2027 when it will have asolar elongation of 100 degrees.
Ikeya identified the comet using a 25-centimeter (10-inch) reflector at 39×, while Murakami used a 46 cm (18-inch) reflector at 78×.[10] Photographic confirmation of the comet was obtained by Ernesto Guido andGiovanni Sostero using a Global-Rent-a-Scope (GRAS) telescope in New Mexico. Both Ikeya and Murakami discovered the comet using manual observation through optical telescopes. Such visual discoveries have become rare in recent years.[10]
At the start of November 2010, a few weeks past perihelion passage, it was discovered the comet had undergone a major outburst between October 31 and November 3.[12] After the 2010 perihelion passage, the comet only had about an 80-dayobservation arc.[12]
The recovery of P/2010 V1 on December 31, 2015, at magnitude 20 was announced on January 2, 2016, and designated as P/2015 Y2.[2] A secondary fragment (B) was confirmed and announced on January 5, 2016.[13] The comet is now composed of component A and B with two different comas, envelopes and tails.[13] Around January 11, 2016, two fainter potential fragments, designated P/2010 V1-C and P/2010 V1-D have been located, both likely having been fragmented from P/2010 V1-B. As of January 29, fragments B and D had nearly entirely disintegrated, and fragment C had undergone an outburst, making it as bright as P/2010 V1-A.
Fragment–A has a 124-dayobservation arc,[3] and fragment–F has the poorestorbit determination as it has a short arc of only 11-days.[7] Most of the fragments are estimated to have anorbital period of about 1980 days. Fragment–F is estimated to have a longer orbital period of around 2050 days. After two orbits (11 years) of becoming divergent, fragment–F is estimated to come to perihelion 4 months and 18 days after fragment–A.
| Comet fragment | semimajor axis (AU) | perihelion | eccentricity | inclination | M2 | ascending node | argument of peri | Discovery date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3.08642 | 1.572883 | 0.49039 | 9.3869 | 19.3 | 3.7827 | 152.442 | 2016/01/02 |
| B | 3.0834 | 1.57287 | 0.48989 | 9.3824 | 20.8 | 3.796 | 152.378 | 2016/01/01 |
| C | 3.0894 | 1.57293 | 0.49086 | 9.3870 | 12.5 | 3.7810 | 152.430 | 2010/11/03 |
| D | 3.083 | 1.5714 | 0.4904 | 9.379 | 19.5 | 3.76 | 152.6 | 2016/02/01 |
| E | 3.09 | 1.573 | 0.491 | 9.39 | 22.5 | 3.8 | 152.5 | 2016/01/18 |
| F | 3.15 | 1.585 | 0.496 | 9.51 | 22.1 | 3.60 | 152.4 | 2016/02/05 |
| G | 3.06 | 1.551 | 0.494 | 9.27 | 20.6 | 3.6 | 154.5 | 2016/02/10 |
| H | 3.0860 | 1.57283 | 0.49033 | 9.3857 | 18.9 | 3.786 | 152.421 | 2016/02/05 |
| I | 3.083 | 1.5730 | 0.490 | 9.38 | 21.7 | 3.80 | 152.4 | 2016/02/05 |
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 331P/Gibbs | 332P/Ikeya–Murakami | Next 333P/LINEAR |
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