 C/2013 R1 on 28 November 2013, three-minute exposure using a 6"refractor | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Terry Lovejoy (Thornlands, Qld., Australia)[1] |
| Discovery date | 7 September 2013 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 14 December 2013[2] |
| Aphelion | ~830 AU (epoch 2200)[3] |
| Perihelion | 0.8118AU (q)[2] |
| Eccentricity | 0.9984[2] |
| Orbital period | ~6,900yr (epoch 1800) ~8,500 yr (epoch 2200)[3] |
| Inclination | 64.04°[2] |
| Last perihelion | 22 December 2013[2] |
| Physical characteristics[4] | |
Mean radius | 1.266±0.10 km |
Meandensity | 480±70 kg/m3 |
C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) is a long-periodcomet discovered on 7 September 2013 byTerry Lovejoy using a 0.2-meter (8 in)Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope.[1] It is the fourth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy. C/2013 R1 crossed thecelestial equator on 14 October 2013, becoming a betterNorthern Hemisphere object.
By 1 November 2013, the comet was visible to thenaked eye near theBeehive Cluster (M44), about halfway betweenJupiter andRegulus.[5] It became more impressive thancomet ISON.[6] In binoculars, the comet has the appearance of a green, unresolvedglobular cluster.
C/2013 R1 made its closest approach to Earth on 19 November 2013 at a distance of 0.3967 AU (59.35 million km; 36.88 million mi),[7] and reached anapparent magnitude of about 4.5.[8] On 27 November 2013 the comet was in the constellation ofCanes Venatici, near the bottom of the handle of theBig Dipper. From 28 November until 4 December 2013, the comet was in the constellationBoötes. On 1 December 2013 it passed the starBeta Boötis.[9] From 4 December until 12 December 2013, the comet was in the constellationCorona Borealis.
From 12 December until 14 January 2014, the comet was in the constellationHercules. On 14 December 2013, it passed the starZeta Herculis.[9] The comet came toperihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 22 December 2013 at a distance of 0.81 AU (121,000,000 km; 75,000,000 mi) from the Sun.[2] At perihelion, the comet had anelongation of 51 degrees from the Sun. By September 2014, the comet had faded to magnitude 18.[10]
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2014 in space | ||
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