C/1852 K1 (Chacornac)

Chacornac's Comet, formally designated as C/1852 K1, is a faint parabolic comet that was observed through telescopes between May and June 1852. It is the only comet discovered by French astronomer Jean Chacornac, and is the parent body of the Eta Eridanids meteor shower.^[5][a]

C/1852 K1 (Chacornac)

Discovery
Discovered by	Jean Chacornac
Discovery site	Marseille, France
Discovery date	16 May 1852
Designations
Alternative designations	1852 II[1]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch	20 April 1852 (JD 2397598.5873)
Observation arc	28 days
Earliest precovery date	7 May 1852
Number of observations	31
Perihelion	0.905 AU
Eccentricity	~1.000
Inclination	131.12°
Longitude of ascending node	319.27°
Argument of periapsis	37.206°
Last perihelion	20 April 1852
Earth MOID	0.012 AU[3]
Physical characteristics[4]
Apparent magnitude	9.8 (1852 apparition)

Discovery and observations

Jean Chacornac made his only comet discovery from the Marseille Observatory on 16 May 1852, where he spotted a "faint, diffuse object" without a discernible tail nor nucleus in the constellation Cepheus.^[b] He later confirmed his discovery the following day.^[4]