C/1854 L1 (Klinkerfues)

For other comets of the same name, see Comet Klinkerfues.

C/1854 L1 (Klinkerfues) is a non-periodic comet that became barely visible to the naked eye between June and July 1854. It is the second of six comets discovered by the German astronomer, Wilhelm Klinkerfues.

C/1854 L1 (Klinkerfues)

Discovery
Discovered by	Wilhelm Klinkerfues
Discovery date	6 June 1854
Designations
Alternative designations	1854 III[1]
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch	22 May 1854 (JD 2398360.5)
Observation arc	54 days
Number of observations	262
Perihelion	0.648 AU
Semi-major axis	~480 AU
Eccentricity	0.99866
Orbital period	~10,600 years
Inclination	131.69°
Longitude of ascending node	346.88°
Argument of periapsis	344.95°
Mean anomaly	359.20°
Last perihelion	22 June 1854
Physical characteristics[4][5]
Mean diameter	~4.8 km (3.0 mi)
Comet total magnitude (M1)	6.4
Apparent magnitude	4.0 (1854 apparition)

Orbit

Initial orbital calculations by Friedrich Winnecke in 1855 resulted in a parabolic trajectory for the comet.^[6] Several attempts to compute an elliptical orbit were conducted since then, including by Klinkerfues himself where he noted that the orbit of C/1854 L1 is similar to those of the comets that appeared in 961 (C/962 B2) and 1558 (C/1558 P1) respectively.^[4] The possibility that C/1854 L1 is related to the comet of 961 AD was further explored in 1981, where it was tentatively assigned as the parent body of the ε-Eridanid meteor stream.^[7] This resulted in a Halley-type orbital period of approximately 127 years,^[5] however further calculations by Jeremie Vaubaillon and Peter Jenniskens ruled out a link between the two comets, as the simulated dust generated did not match those observed in the aforementioned 1981 meteor shower.^[5]

A more definitive orbit was calculated by Richard L. Branham, Jr. in 2013, where he concluded that the comet has a highly-elliptical orbit that is completed once every 10,600 years and thus presents no immediate threat to Earth.^[2]