Biela's Comet
Disintegrated periodic comet / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Biela's Comet?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
Biela's Comet or Comet Biela (official designation: 3D/Biela) was a periodic Jupiter-family comet first recorded in 1772 by Montaigne and Messier and finally identified as periodic in 1826 by Wilhelm von Biela. It was subsequently observed to split in two and has not been seen since 1852. As a result, it is currently considered to have been destroyed, although remnants have survived for some time as a meteor shower, the Andromedids which may show increased activity in 2023.[6]
Quick Facts Discovery, Discovered by ...
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Wilhelm von Biela |
Discovery date | February 27, 1826 |
Designations | |
1772; 1806 I; 1832 III; 1846 II; 1852 III; 1772 E1; 1826 D1; 1832 S1 | |
Orbital characteristics[1][2] | |
Epoch | September 29, 1852 |
Aphelion | 6.190 AU |
Perihelion | 0.8606 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.5253 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.7559 |
Orbital period | 6.619 yr |
Inclination | 12.550° |
Last perihelion | September 23, 1852 (fragment A)[2] September 24, 1852 (fragment B)[2] |
Next perihelion | Last seen September 1852 |
TJupiter | 2.531 |
Earth MOID | 0.0005 AU (75 thousand km) (epoch 1832)[3] |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | ≈0.5 km (pre-breakup)[4] |
Close