 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | James E. Gunn |
| Discovery date | October 17, 1970 |
| Designations | |
| 1969 II; 1976 III; 1982 X; 1989 XI; | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 4.737 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.444 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.59 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.3194 |
| Orbital period | 6.803 a |
| Inclination | 10.3867° |
| Last perihelion | October 16, 2017[1] March 2, 2010 May 11, 2003 |
| Next perihelion | 2025-Jun-16[2] |
65P/Gunn is a periodic comet in the Solar System which has a current orbital period of 6.79 years. The comet is a short-period comet, orbiting the Sun every 6.79 years inside the main asteroid belt between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.[3]
It was discovered on 11 October 1970 by Professor James E. GunnofPrinceton University using the 122-cm Schmidt telescope at the Palomar Observatory. It had a low brightness of magnitude 16 plus which improves to 12 under favourable conditions. In 1972 Elizabeth Roemer managed to observe 65P/Gunn close to aphelion.[4]
On 4 February 1970 the comet passed 0.015 AU (2,200,000 km; 1,400,000 mi) from Ceres.[5]
In 1980 was noticed that a 19th magnitude comet found in plates obtained by Palomar Observatory on 8 August 1954[6] was a previous apparition of 65/Gunn. The link was confirmed by Brian G. Marsden.[7]
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 64P/Swift–Gehrels |
65P/Gunn | Next 66P/du Toit |
 | This comet-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
