| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Daniel du Toit Malcolm Hartley |
| Discovery site | Boyden Observatory, South Africa Siding Spring Observatory, Australia |
| Discovery date | 9 April 1945 7 February 1982 |
| Designations | |
| P/1945 G1 P/1982 C1 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 17 October 2024 (JD 2460600.5) |
| Observation arc | 79.32 years |
| Number of observations | 323 |
| Aphelion | 4.766 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.121 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 2.943 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.61920 |
| Orbital period | 5.049 years |
| Inclination | 3.149° |
| 280.52° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 281.76° |
| Mean anomaly | 74.702° |
| Last perihelion | 30 September 2023 |
| Next perihelion | 16 October 2028[1] |
| TJupiter | 2.943 |
| EarthMOID | 0.234 AU |
| JupiterMOID | 0.366 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean diameter | 2.8 km (1.7 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 17.4 |
79P/du Toit–Hartley ordu Toit 2 is aperiodiccomet, now divided into two parts, in theSolar System with an orbital period of 5.06 years. Its most recent perihelion was reached on 30 September 2023.[1] It was about 2.7 AU (400 million km) from the Sun and Earth on 26 May 2024.[4]
It was originally discovered byDaniel du Toit at theBoyden Observatory, Bloemfontein, South Africa (then administered byHarvard College) on 9 April 1945 with a brightness ofapparent magnitude 10.[5]
Uncertainties in the calculation of the orbit meant the comet was lost until rediscovered byMalcolm Hartley of theUK Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring, Australia in 1982, when it was found to have broken into two parts, probably in 1976. Both parts had a brightness of magnitude 17. Observed in 1987, it was missed in 1992 but rediscovered by astronomers at Los Molinos Observatory, Uruguay on 4 March 2003 at magnitude 17. Fragment 79P-B is lost as it only has a 23-dayobservation arc from 1982.
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 78P/Gehrels | 79P/du Toit–Hartley | Next 80P/Peters–Hartley |
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