8P/Tuttle
DiscovererHorace Parnell Tuttle
Discovery dateJanuary 5, 1858
Mpc nameP/1790 A2, P/1858 A1
P/1871 T1
Designations
  • 1790 II, 1858 I, 1871 III
  • 1885 IV, 1899 III
  • 1912 IV, 1926 IV
  • 1939 X, 1967 V
  • 1980 XIII, 1994 XV
Observation arc232.14 years
Earliest precovery dateJanuary 28, 1790[1]
Obs316
EpochJanuary 21, 2022 (JD 2459600.5)
Semimajor5.707 AU
Perihelion1.026 AU
Aphelion10.39 AU
Eccentricity0.82023
Period13.6 years
Inclination54.911°
Asc node270.20°
Arg peri207.49°
Mean10.573°
Tjup1.601
Earth moid0.095 AU
Jupiter moid0.738 AU
Dimensions4.5 km (2.8 mi)
Rotation11.4 hours
M 114.6
Last pAugust 27, 2021[2]
Next pApril 18, 2035[3]

8P/Tuttle (also known as Tuttle's Comet or Comet Tuttle) is a periodic comet with a 13.6-year orbit. It fits the classical definition of a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of less than 20 years, but does not fit the modern definition of (2 < TJupiter< 3).[4] Its last perihelion passage was 27 August 2021 when it had a solar elongation of 26 degrees at approximately apparent magnitude 9.[5] Two weeks later, on September 12, 2021, it was about 1.8 astronomical units from Earth which is about as far from Earth as the comet can get when the comet is near perihelion.

Comet 8P/Tuttle is responsible for the Ursid meteor shower in late December.[6]

2008 perihelion

Under dark skies, the comet was a naked-eye object. On December 30, 2007, it was in close conjunction with the Triangulum Galaxy. On January 1, 2008, it passed Earth at a distance of 0.25282 astronomical units.[4] It was visible telescopically to Southern Hemisphere observers in the constellation Eridanus throughout February 2008.

Predictions that the 2007 Ursid meteor shower could have possibly been stronger than usual due to the return of the comet,[7] did not appear to materialize, as counts were in the range of normal distribution.

Physical characteristics

Radar observations of Comet Tuttle in January 2008 by the Arecibo Observatory show it to be a contact binary.[8][9] The comet nucleus is estimated at 4.5 km (2.8 mi) in diameter, using the equivalent diameter of a sphere having a volume equal to the sum of a 3 by 4 km (1.9 by 2.5 mi) sphere.[4]

Exploration

In 2019, 8P/Tuttle was listed as one of 10 backup targets of the European Space Agency's Comet Interceptor mission.[10] Scheduled for launch on 2029, the spacecraft may conduct a flyby of 8P on March 26, 2035 if selected.[10]

References

  1. ^ W. F. Denning (1916). "Mechain-Tuttle's Comet of 1790–1858 and a Meteoric Shower". The Observatory. 39 (506): 466–467. Bibcode:1916Obs....39..466D
  2. ^ K. Kinoshita (2008-01-24). "8P/Tuttle". Comet Orbits
  3. ^ "Horizons Batch for 8P/Tuttle (90000180) on 2035-Apr-18" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived 2022-06-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-25. (JPL K215/24 Soln.date: 2022-May-02)
  4. ^ "8P/Tuttle – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  5. ^ S. Yoshida (2020-06-28). "8P/Tuttle". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  6. ^ "Meteor Streams". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  7. ^ P. Jenniskens; E. Lyytinen; M. Nissinen; I. Yrjölä; J. Vaubaillon (2007). "Strong Ursid shower predicted for 2007 December 22". WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization. 35 (6): 125–133. Bibcode:2007JIMO...35..125J
  8. ^ G. Schilling (2008-10-14). "Comet Tuttle's Split Personality". Science. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  9. ^ J. K. Harmon; M. C. Nolan; E. S. Howell; J. D. Giorgini (13–18 July 2008). Comet 8P/Tuttle: Arecibo Radar Observations of the First Bilobate Comet. 10th Asteroids, Comets, Meteors. Baltimore, Maryland: Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  10. ^ M. E. Schwamb; M. M. Knight; G. H. Jones et al. (2020). "Potential Backup Targets for Comet Interceptor". Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 4 (2): 21. arXiv:2002.01744. Bibcode:2020RNAAS...4...21S. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ab7300