332P/Ikeya–Murakami

Observational history

Ikeya identified the comet using a 25-centimeter (10-inch) reflector at 39×, while Murakami used a 46 cm (18-inch) reflector at 78×. Photographic confirmation of the comet was obtained by Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero using a Global-Rent-a-Scope (GRAS) telescope in New Mexico. Both Ikeya and Murakami discovered the comet using manual observation through optical telescopes. Such visual discoveries have become rare in recent years.

At the start of November 2010, a few weeks past perihelion passage, it was discovered the comet had undergone a major outburst between October 31 and November 3. After the 2010 perihelion passage, the comet only had about an 80-day observation arc.

The recovery of P/2010 V1 on December 31, 2015, at magnitude 20 was announced on January 2, 2016, and designated as P/2015 Y2. A secondary fragment (B) was confirmed and announced on January 5, 2016. The comet is now composed of component A and B with two different comas, envelopes and tails. Around January 11, 2016, two fainter potential fragments, designated P/2010 V1-C and P/2010 V1-D have been located, both likely having been fragmented from P/2010 V1-B. As of January 29, fragments B and D had nearly entirely disintegrated, and fragment C had undergone an outburst, making it as bright as P/2010 V1-A.

F Fragment–A has a 124-day observation arc, and fragment–F has the poorest orbit determination as it has a short arc of only 11-days. Most of the fragments are estimated to have an orbital period of about 1980 days. Fragment–F is estimated to have a longer orbital period of around 2050 days. After two orbits (11 years) of becoming divergent, fragment–F is estimated to come to perihelion after fragment–A.

Fragments

References

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References

1. "Cosmic Fragments".
2. Sinnott, Roger. (2010-11-04). "New Binocular Comet in the Morning Sky". [[Sky & Telescope]].
3. (November 17, 2010). "Ikeya–Murakami: The New Comet on the Cosmic Block". [[NASA]].