53P/Van Biesbroeck

Observational history

The comet was discovered by George Van Biesbroeck of the Yerkes Observatory on 1 September 1954 while searching for the asteroid 1953 GC. The comet had an estimated apparent magnitude of 14.5 and appeared well condensed. The comet was then 1.85 AU from Earth and 2.86 AU from the Sun and had passed from its perigee, which took place on 17 August 1954. The comet was followed until 13 November 1955.

Orbit

This comet and 42P/Neujmin are fragments of a parent comet that split around March 1845. The orbit of 53P/Van Biesbroeck has a Jupiter minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of only 0.009 AU. The next perihelion passage is on Christmas Eve 24 December 2028. The comet is expected to brighten to about apparent magnitude 14.

Physical characteristics

The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 3.33 – based on observations by the Keck Observatory.

References

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