| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Eustachio Zanotti |
| Discovery site | Bologna, Italy |
| Discovery date | 28 May 1739 |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch | 17 June 1739 (JD 2356384.416) |
| Observation arc | 82 days |
| Perihelion | 0.674 AU |
| Eccentricity | ~1.000 |
| Inclination | 121.260° |
| 211.044° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 104.752° |
| Last perihelion | 17 June 1739 |
| Physical characteristics[3][4] | |
Mean radius | 2.96 km (1.84 mi)[a] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 3.3 |
C/1739 K1 is anon-periodic comet that was discovered by Italian astronomerEustachio Zanotti in 1739.[1] It is the parent body of theLeo Minorids meteor shower.[5]
Zanotti spotted the comet in the constellation ofLynx on 27 May. He described it as a magnitude 3 star surrounded by nebulosity, while a tail 2 degrees long was spotted using a telescope. Zanotti followed the comet with the naked eye until 17 August, when it was only visible via a telescope. He last observed the comet the next day. It was also observed byJames Bradley from 30 May to 10 June and Fuhrmann from June 8 to June 19.[4]
The parabolic orbit calculated byNicolas-Louis de Lacaille indicates it passed perihelion on 17.9 June. The comet had passed at a distance of 0.45 AU on 16 April 1739.[4] The comet has a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 0.049 AU and has been associated with the Leo Minoridsmeteor shower.[6]
In 1929,Tadeusz Banachiewicz initially noted some similarities with the preliminary orbit of the then-newly discovered comet,C/1929 Y1 (Wilk),[7] indicating a potential return of Comet Zanotti.[8] However, the claim is later refuted and both comets are unrelated to each other.[8]
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