C/1911 S3 (Beljawsky)

Comet Beljawsky, formally designated as C/1911 S3, is a comet discovered by the Russian astronomer Sergei Ivanovich Beljawsky on 29 September 1911 and shortly thereafter, it was seen independently by four or five other observers in the United States and probably by others throughout the world.^[4]

C/1911 S3 (Beljawsky)

Comet Beljawsky photographed by Heber D. Curtis in 19 October 1911
Discovery
Discovered by	Sergei I. Beljawsky
Discovery date	29 September 1911
Designations
Alternative designations	1911 IV, 1911g
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch	11 October 1911 (JD 2419320.5)
Observation arc	140 days
Number of observations	66
Perihelion	0.3034 AU
Semi-major axis	–2064.109 AU
Eccentricity	1.000147
Inclination	96.466°
Longitude of ascending node	89.897°
Argument of periapsis	71.711°
Last perihelion	10 October 1911
Physical characteristics[2]
Mean radius	1.40 km (0.87 mi)[a]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	5.8
Apparent magnitude	1.0 (1911 apparition)[3]

Observational history

At the time it was discovered, the comet was near to the Sun which made observations difficult. However, several days after discovery it was a naked-eye object for a few days in the morning sky and later, after perihelion, as an evening object. It faded rapidly, becoming visible only in telescopes and was last seen on 17 February 1912.^[1][5][6] The comet sported a tail 8 to 10 degrees in length.^[4] In mid-October, the comet was visible in the evening sky together with another bright comet, C/1911 O1 (Brooks).^[3]

Comet Beljawsky is a non-periodic comet noteworthy for having a hyperbolic trajectory and so it is not expected to return to the inner Solar System.^[1]