479P/Elenin

Discovery
Discovered by	Leonid Elenin[1] 0.45-m reflector (H15)[2][3]
Discovery date	7 July 2011[2]
Designations
Alternative designations	P/2011 NO1 (Elenin),2023 WM26
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	15 June 2020[4] (JD 2459015.5)
Aphelion	9.98AU (Q)
Perihelion	1.24 AU (q)
Semi-major axis	5.61 AU (a)
Eccentricity	0.779
Orbital period	13.28 yr
Inclination	15.40°
Longitude of ascending node	295.81°
Argument of periapsis	263.64°
Last perihelion	20 January 2011[4]
Next perihelion	10 September 2037
TJupiter	2.183
EarthMOID	0.38 AU
Comet total magnitude (M1)	15.2[4]

479P/Elenin, with provisional designation P/2011 NO₁ (Elenin), is aperiodiccomet with an orbital period estimated at 13.3 years.^[4]

The comet was discovered on 7 July 2011^[2] when the comet was 2.38 AU from the Sun and 1.4 AU from the Earth and had anapparent magnitude of 19.5. It had come toperihelion (closest approach to the Sun) around 20 January 2011 at 1.2 AU from the Sun.^[4] P/2011 NO1 was the second comet discovered byLeonid Elenin. The first comet discovered by Elenin was cometC/2010 X1. Both comets were discovered with the aid of the automatic detection program CoLiTec.^[5] It came toopposition 178.6° from the Sun on 22 July 2011 in the constellationSagittarius.

On 29 January 2013 theMinor Planet Center awarded Leonid Elenin a 2012 Edgar Wilson Award for the discovery of comets by amateurs.^[6]

Maik Meyer proposed that asteroid2023 WM₂₆, which was discovered byPanSTARRS on 18 November 2023, is the return of P/2011 NO₁ (Elenin).^[7][8] The link was later confirmed by Shuichi Nakano and Daniel Green.^[9] The 2024 apparition was the most favorable in decades, with the comet approaching 0.62 AU to Earth on 4 May 2024, one day before perihelion. The comet appeared gasy and diffuse and brightened to an apparent magnitude of 10 to 11.^[10]

The radius of the nucleus is estimated to be less than one kilometre.^[11]

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) /Horizons Ephemeris
• Elements and Ephemeris for P/2011 NO1 –Minor Planet Center
• Survey anniversary gift – a new comet is discovered! (Leonid Elenin – SpaceObs – 19 July 2011)
• New comet P/2011 NO1 (Luca Buzzi – 19 July 2011)
• New Comet: P/2011 NO1 (Remanzacco Observatory – 19 July 2011)

• Astronomical objects discovered in 2011
• Comets in 2011
• Comets in 2024
• Numbered comets
• Jupiter-family comets
• Near-Earth comets
• Discoveries by Leonid Elenin

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from July 2019