56P/Slaughter–Burnham

Not to be confused with C/1958 R1 (Burnham–Slaughter).

For other comets discovered by Robert Burnham Jr., see Comet Burnham.

56P/Slaughter–Burnham is a periodic comet in the Solar System with a period of 11.54 years.^[4] It is the second of two comets co-discovered by Robert Burnham Jr. and Charles D. Slaughter.

56P/Slaughter–Burnham

Discovery
Discovered by	Charles D. Slaughter Robert Burnham
Discovery date	January 27, 1959
Designations
Alternative designations	1958 VI; 1970 V; 1981 XVIII; 1993 X
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	7.679 AU
Perihelion	2.535 AU
Semi-major axis	5.107 AU
Eccentricity	0.5036
Orbital period	11.54 a
Inclination	8.1558°
Last perihelion	July 18, 2016[1] January 14, 2005
Next perihelion	2027-Dec-19[2]
Jupiter MOID	0.02 AU (3,000,000 km)[3]

Observational history

It was discovered in 1959 by Charles D. Slaughter and Robert Burnham of the Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona during a photographic survey. They spotted the comet, with a faint brightness of magnitude 16, on a plate exposed on 10 December 1958. By monitoring its movement over a series of consecutive days, Elizabeth Roemer was able to calculate its orbit, suggesting a perihelion date of 4 August 1958 and an orbital period of 11.18 years.

It was subsequently observed in 1970, 1981, 1993, 2005 and 2016. Its next perihelion will be on December 19, 2027.^[5]

The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 1.55 kilometers based on observations by Keck.^[6]