C/1907 T1 (Mellish)
Mellish's Comet photographed by Max Wolf from the Heidelberg Observatory on 5 November 1907 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | John E. Mellish |
| Discovery site | Cottage Grove, Wisconsin |
| Discovery date | 14 October 1907 |
| Designations | |
| 1907 V, 1907e[2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch | 11 November 1907 (JD 2417890.5) |
| Observation arc | 297 days[3] |
| Earliest precovery date | 31 March 1907[3] |
| Number of observations | 16 |
| Perihelion | 0.983 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.00001 |
| Inclination | 119.64° |
| 55.896° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 294.38° |
| Last perihelion | 14 September 1907 |
| Earth MOID | 0.317 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.006 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5] | |
Mean radius | 0.521 km (0.324 mi)[a] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 9.1 |
| 8.0 (1907 apparition)[3] | |
C/1907 T1 (Mellish) is a faint non-periodic comet that was observed between October 1907 and January 1908. It is the first comet discovered independently by American astronomer, John Edward Mellish.[b]
Observational history
The comet was already on its outbound trajectory when it was first spotted by John E. Mellish on the night of 14 October 1907. At the time, it was an 8th-magnitude object moving towards the northwest within the constellation Hydra.[c]
It was last observed by Max Wolf when it faded to magnitude 16.5 as he photographed it from the Heidelberg Observatory on 22 January 1908.[6]
Notes
- ^ Calculated mean radius using the formula: [5]
Where is the comet's absolute total magnitude (M1) - ^ John E. Mellish co-discovered C/1907 G1 (Grigg–Mellish) with John Grigg about six months before C/1907 T1 was first spotted.
- ^ Reported initial position upon discovery was: α = 8h 31m , δ = –9° 24′[3]
References
- ^ J. E. Mellish. E. C. Pickering (ed.). "Mellish's Comet 1907e". HCO Bulletin. 307 (1). Bibcode:1907BHarO.307....1P.
- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d G. W. Kronk (2007). Cometography: A Catalog of Comets. Vol. 3: 1900–1932. Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–121. ISBN 978-0-521-58506-4.
- ^ "C/1907 T1 (Mellish) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ a b J. A. Fernández; A. Sosa (2012). "Magnitude and size distribution of long-period comets in Earth-crossing or approaching orbits" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 423 (2): 1674–1690. arXiv:1204.2285. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20989.x.
- ^ M. Wolf (1908). "Photographische Aufnahmen von Kometen und kleinen Planeten" [Photographic images of comets and minor planets]. Astronomische Nachrichten (in German). 177 (6): 93–94. Bibcode:1908AN....177...93W. doi:10.1002/asna.19081770609.
External links
- C/1907 T1 at the JPL Small-Body Database