210P/Christensen
The recovery image of the comet by STEREO, on 13 December 2008
Discovery[1]
Discovered byEric J. Christensen
Discovery date26 May 2003
Designations
P/2003 K2, P/2008 X4
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch3 February 2010
Aphelion5.817 AU
Perihelion0.534 AU
Semi-major axis3.176 AU
Eccentricity0.8317
Orbital period5.659 years
Inclination10.217°
93.872°
Argument of
periapsis		345.766°
Last perihelion7 April 2020
Next perihelion22 November 2025 [3]
TJupiter2.492
Earth MOID0.170 AU
Jupiter MOID0.018 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions≤ 1.74 km[4]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		14.9[2]

210P/Christensen is a Jupiter family periodic comet with an orbital period of 5.7 years. It was discovered by Eric J. Christensen on 26 May 2003 in images taken by the Catalina Sky Survey[1] and recovered in images obtained by STEREO, the first time a single-apparition comet was recovered by a spacecraft.[5]

Eric J. Christensen discovered the comet on 26 May 2003 in images taken with the 0.7-m Schmidt telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey. The comet had an estimated magnitude of 14.6 and a coma with an estimated diameter between 10 and 35 arcseconds and a faint tail.[1] Further observations revealed the comet had a short orbital period.[6]

In mid December 2008, Australian comet-hunter Alan Watson spotted in the STEREO/SECCHI Heliospheric Imager ("HI") HI-1B data a cometary object. Veteran German comet hunter Rainer Kracht recorded a few positions of the comet in the data and produced a set of very approximate orbital elements for it.[5] Maik Meyer noticed the similarity of these orbital elements to those of P/2003 K2 and the link was confirmed by Brian Marsden.[5][7] This was the first recovery by a spacecraft of a single-apparition comet (a comet that had only been observed to pass the Sun once) by a spacecraft.[5] The comet was observed from the ground on 31 November 2008, with an estimated magnitude of 11.[8]

The comet has been locked in a 2:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter for the last 10,000 years and could be of asteroidal origin.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Green, Daniel (27 May 2003). "IAUC 8136: C/2003 K2; 2003ej, 2003ek,, 2003el". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Small-Body Database Lookup: 210P/IRAS". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "210P/Christensen". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Fernández, Julio A.; Sosa, Andrea (1 December 2015). "Jupiter family comets in near-Earth orbits: Are some of them interlopers from the asteroid belt?". Planetary and Space Science. 118: 14–24. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.07.010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "SECCHI Makes a Fantastic Recovery!". stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Green, Daniel (7 June 2003). "IAUC 8145: C/2003 L1; P/2003 K2; C/2003 K4". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Battams, K.; Watson, A.; Kracht, R.; Meyer, M.; Marsden, B. G. (1 December 2008). "Comet P/2008 X4 = P/2003 K2 (Christensen)". International Astronomical Union Circular. 9005: 1. ISSN 0081-0304.
  8. ↑ Kadota, K.; Marsden, B. G. (1 January 2009). "Comet P/2008 X4 (Christensen)". International Astronomical Union Circular. 9008: 2. ISSN 0081-0304.
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