53P/Van Biesbroeck

53P/Van Biesbroeck is a periodic comet about 7.0 km (4.3 mi) in diameter.^[2] Its current orbital period is 12.67 years.

53P/Van Biesbroeck

Infrared image of 53P/Van Biesbroeck taken by NEOWISE on 26 April 2016
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	George Van Biesbroeck
Discovery site	Yerkes Observatory
Discovery date	1 September 1954
Designations
MPC designation	P/1954 R1 P/1965 J1 P/1989 H1
Alternative designations	1954 IV, 1966 III 1978 XXIV, 1991 VI 1954i, 1965d 1977s
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch	13 September 2023 (JD 2460200.5)
Observation arc	63.42 years
Number of observations	3,195
Aphelion	8.423 AU
Perihelion	2.445 AU
Semi-major axis	5.434 AU
Eccentricity	0.55009
Orbital period	12.67 years
Inclination	6.607°
Longitude of ascending node	148.83°
Argument of periapsis	134.47°
Mean anomaly	209.69°
Last perihelion	29 April 2016[4]
Next perihelion	24 December 2028
TJupiter	2.652
Earth MOID	1.416 AU
Jupiter MOID	0.009 AU
Physical characteristics[2][5]
Mean diameter	6.66–6.74 km (4.14–4.19 mi)
Comet total magnitude (M1)	10.0
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	12.5

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.^[1] The comet had an estimated apparent magnitude of 14.5 and appeared well condensed. The comet was then 1.85 AU (277 million km) from Earth and 2.86 AU (428 million km) from the Sun and had passed from its perigee, which took place on 17 August 1954. The comet was followed until 13 November 1955.^[6]

Orbit

This comet and 42P/Neujmin are fragments of a parent comet that split around March 1845.^[7][8][9] The orbit of 53P/Van Biesbroeck has a Jupiter minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of only 0.009 AU (1.3 million km; 840,000 mi).^[2] The next perihelion passage is on Christmas Eve 24 December 2028.^[3] The comet is expected to brighten to about apparent magnitude 14.

Physical characteristics

The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 3.33–3.37 km (2.07–2.09 mi) based on observations by the Keck Observatory.^[5]