C/2024 X1 (Fazekas)

C/2024 X1 (Fazekas) is a Jupiter-family comet. It was discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey scientist, J. B. Fazekas.^[2]

C/2024 X1 (Fazekas)

Discovery
Discovered by	Jacqueline B. Fazekas
Discovery site	Mount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date	11 December 2024
Designations
Alternative designations	CK24X010
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch	15 December 2024 (JD 2460659.5)
Observation arc	8 days
Number of observations	41
Aphelion	15.30 AU
Perihelion	3.814 AU
Semi-major axis	9.557 AU
Eccentricity	0.60096
Orbital period	29.54 years
Inclination	6.450°
Longitude of ascending node	352.513°
Argument of periapsis	123.442°
Longitude of perihelion	296.087°
Next perihelion	30 July 2025
TJupiter	2.697
Earth MOID	2.835 AU
Jupiter MOID	0.354
Comet total magnitude (M1)	11.2

Discovery

The comet was spotted in the 11 December images taken by 111.5 mpx (10,560 x 10,560 px) CCD mounted at prime focus of 1.5 metres (59 in) f/1.6 Cassegrain reflector (observatory code G96). The object appeared as a 20th magnitude 10-12" blob without tail in the constellation Auriga.^[2][3]

Orbital characteristics

Current calculations suggest it's orbital period is about 29.5 years, classifying it as a Halley-type member.^[4] It will reach next perihelion on 30 July 2025, when it will be 3.057 AU (457.3 million km; 284.2 million mi) from the Earth.^[4]