4P/Faye
DiscovererHervé Faye
Discovery siteRoyal Observatory, France
Discovery date23 November 1843
Mpc nameP/1843 W1, P/1850 W1
Designations
  • 1843 III, 1851 I, 1858 V
  • 1866 II, 1873 III, 1881 I
  • 1888 IV, 1896 II, 1910 V
  • 1925 V, 1932 IX, 1940 II
  • 1947 IX, 1955 II, 1962 VII
  • 1969 VI, 1977 IV, 1984 XI
  • 1991 XXI
Epoch25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Observation arc164.58 years
Obs7,603
Perihelion1.619 AU
Aphelion6.034 AU
Semimajor3.827 AU
Eccentricity0.57683
Period7.48 years
Inclination8.009°
Asc node192.92°
Arg peri207.05°
Mean70.317°
Tjup2.742
Earth moid0.589 astronomical units
Jupiter moid0.066 astronomical units
Mean radius1.77 km (1.10 mi)[1]
M 111.0
M 213.2
Last p8 September 2021
Next p9 March 2029[2]
Perihelion distance
at different epochs[3]
EpochPerihelion
(AU)
18061.74
18431.69
19841.59
21021.51

4P/Faye (also known as Faye's Comet or Comet Faye) is a Jupiter-family comet discovered in November 1843 by Hervé Faye at the Royal Observatory in Paris. On 24 August 2028 the comet will be 1.5 AU from Earth with a solar elongation of 150 degrees at around magnitude 14.[4] The comet comes to perihelion on 9 March 2029.[2]

Observational history

The comet was first observed by Faye on November 23, but bad weather prevented its confirmation until the 25th.[5] It was so faint that it had already passed perihelion about a month before its discovery, and only a close pass by the Earth had made it bright enough for discovery. Otto Wilhelm von Struve reported that the comet was visible to the naked eye at the end of November.[5] It remained visible for smaller telescopes until January 10, 1844, and was finally lost to larger telescopes on April 10, 1844.[5]

In 1844, Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander[6] and Thomas James Henderson[7] independently computed that the comet was a short-period comet; by May, its period had been calculated to be 7.43 years.[5] Urbain Le Verrier computed the positions for the 1851 apparition, predicting perihelion in April 1851.[5] The comet was found close to its predicted position on November 29, 1850, by James Challis.[5]

The comet was missed during its apparitions in 1903 and 1918 due to unfavorable observing circumstances.[5] It reached a brightness of about 9th magnitude in 2006.[8]

Orbit

The comet encounters Jupiter once every 59.3 years, which is gradually reducing its perihelion and increasing its orbital eccentricity. During its 2018 encounter of Jupiter, Faye's perihelion changed from about 1.7 AU to about 1.5 AU.[9] Orbital calculations spanning from 1660 to 2060 revealed that it made nine approaches that are less than 1.5 astronomical units from Jupiter, although no significant perturbations were observed.[10]

Physical characteristics

Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope between July 1999 and June 2000 revealed that the nucleus of Faye's Comet is estimated to be about 3.54 km (2.20 mi) in diameter.[1]

References

  1. ^ P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; H. A. Weaver; M. F. A'Hearn; L. Jorda (2009). "Properties of the nuclei and comae of 13 ecliptic comets from Hubble Space Telescope snapshot observations". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 508 (2): 1045–1056. Bibcode:2009A&A...508.1045L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811462. S2CID 125249770
  2. ^ "Horizons Batch for 4P/Faye (90000118) on 2029-Mar-09" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived 2022-06-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-06-15. (JPL#K212/32 Soln.date: 2023-Dec-05)
  3. ^ Kinoshita, Kazuo (2015-06-12). "4P/Faye past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  4. ^ G. van Buitenen. "4P/Faye". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 2026-04-26.
  5. ^ Kronk, Gary W. (2001–2005). "4P/Faye". Retrieved 2005-12-25. (Cometography Home Page)
  6. ^ F. W. A. Argelander (1844). "Schreiben des Herrn Professors Argelander, Directors der Sternwarte in Bonn, an den Herausgeber" (in German). Astronomische Nachrichten. 21 (495): 225–226. Bibcode:1844AN.....21..225A. doi:10.1002/asna.18440211502
  7. ^ T. J. Henderson (1844). "On the Orbit of the Comet of Faye". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 6 (3): 18–20. Bibcode:1844MNRAS...6...18H. doi:10.1093/mnras/6.3.18b
  8. ^ Seiichi Yoshida (2008-10-12). "4P/Faye (2006)". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Archived 13 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  9. ^ "Comet of the month – 4P/Faye | British Astronomical Association"
  10. ^ N. A. Belyaev & F. B. Khanina et al. (1972). "Linkage of Seven Apparitions of Periodic Comet Faye 1925–1970 and Investigation of the Orbital Evolution during 1660–2060.". The Motion, Evolution of Orbits, and Origin of Comets. Vol. 45. IAU / Springer. pp. 167–172. Bibcode:1972IAUS...45..167B. doi:10.1007/978-94-010-2873-8_31. ISBN 978-94-010-2873-8.