C/1954 O1 (Vozarova)

C/1954 O1 (Vozarova)
Discovery[1]
Discovered byMargita V. Kresáková
Discovery siteSkalnaté pleso Observatory
Discovery date28 July 1954
Designations
1954f[2]
1954 VIII
Orbital characteristics[3][4]
Epoch9 November 1954 (JD 2435055.5)
Observation arc144 days
Number of
observations
60
Perihelion0.7812 AU
Semi-major axis–10.6066 AU
Eccentricity1.07365
Inclination115.184°
123.986°
Argument of
periapsis
5.108°
Last perihelion1 June 1954
Earth MOID0.2005 AU
Jupiter MOID3.5469 AU
Physical characteristics[5]
Mean radius
0.893 km (0.555 mi)[a]
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
7.3
9.0[6]
(1954 apparition)

Comet Vozarova, formally designated C/1954 O1, is a possibly hyperbolic comet discovered by Slovak astronomer, Margita Vozárová, on 28 July 1954. The orbit calculation is based on 4 observations according to JPL, and the orbit may not be hyperbolic as according to the uncertainty the eccentricity could be between 0.6 and 1.5.

Discovery and observation

The comet was already on its outbound flight as a magnitude 9.0 object upon discovery,[6] where some observers noticed it also may have potentially fragmented.[4]

By August, the comet was found to have a 20-arcminute long tail pointed towards the Sun.[7] It was last observed from the Lick Observatory as a magnitude 18.5 object on 18 December 1954.[8][4]

Notes

  1. ^ Calculated mean radius using the formula: [5]
    Where is the comet's absolute total magnitude (M1)

References

  1. ^ "SLOVENSKÉ A ČESKÉ KOMÉTY - 2. strana". planetarium.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ "C/1954 O1 (Vozarova) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b c I. Hasegawa (1966). "Orbit of Comet Vozarova, 1954 VIII". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 18 (3): 281–286. Bibcode:1966PASJ...18..281H.
  5. ^ a b J. A. Fernández; A. Sosa (2012). "Magnitude and size distribution of long-period comets in Earth-crossing or approaching orbits". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 423 (2): 1674–1690. arXiv:1204.2285. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20989.x.
  6. ^ a b "Comet C/1954 O1 (Vozarova)". Comet Observation Database System (COBS). Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  7. ^ "History of the BAA Comet Section". British Astronomical Association. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  8. ^ H. M. Jeffers; E. Roemer (1955). "Observations of Comets and Asteroids". Astronomical Journal. 60 (1234): 440–442. Bibcode:1955AJ.....60..440J. doi:10.1086/107254.