99P/Kowal
{{Short description|Periodic comet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox comet
| name = 99P/Kowal
| image =
| caption =
| discovery_ref = {{r|IAUC_3066}}
| discoverer = Charles T. Kowal
| discovery_site = Palomar Observatory
| discovery_date = 24 April 1977
| mpc_name = P/1977 H2
P/1991 D2
| designations = {{unbulleted|Kowal 1|1977 III, 1992 VI|1977f, 1991i}}
| orbit_ref = {{r|jpldata|MPC}}
| epoch = 17 October 2024 (JD 2460600.5)
| observation_arc = 47.25 years
| obs = 1,740
| perihelion = 4.702 AU
| aphelion = 7.489 AU
| semimajor = 6.095 AU
| eccentricity = 0.22857
| period = 15.049 years
| inclination = 4.339°
| asc_node = 28.083°
| arg_peri = 174.59°
| mean = 60.356°
| tjup = 2.956
| Earth_moid = 3.724 AU
| Jupiter_moid = 0.307 AU
| physical_ref = {{r|jpldata}}
| mean_diameter = {{cvt|10.2|km|mi}}
| M1 = 6.7
| M2 = 11.5
| last_p = 12 April 2022
| next_p = 6 May 2037{{r|Horizons2029}}
}}
99P/Kowal, also known as Kowal 1, is a periodic comet in the Solar System that orbits out by Jupiter and has a 15 year orbital period. It has been observed regularly since 2019. Its most recent perihelion occurred in April 2022, and is expected to return by May 2037.{{r|MPC}}
Observational history
Charles T. Kowal discovered this comet shortly after reporting the discovery of asteroid 2063 Bacchus (then known as 1977 HB) on the night of 24 April 1977.{{r|IAUC_3066}} It already passed perihelion when it was first spotted as a 16th-magnitude object within the constellation Virgo.{{r|cometography}} Orbital calculations by Shuichi Nakano and Brian G. Marsden predicted that the comet has a 15-year orbit around the Sun, and was expected to return by 1992.{{r|cometography}} It was successfully recovered by James V. Scotti from the Kitt Peak Observatory's Spacewatch program on 21 February 1991.{{r|IAUC_5195}}
Between 12 and 14 May 2021, a small outburst temporarily brightened Comet Kowal 1, which raised its apparent magnitude from 18.32 to 17.6.{{r|Kelley_2021}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
| author1= G. W. Kronk
| title= 99P/Kowal 1
| url= https://cometography.com/pcomets/099p.html
| website= Cometography.com
| access-date= 26 May 2025 }}
| title= Horizons Batch for 99P/Kowal 1 (90000934) on 2037-May-06
| publisher= JPL Horizons
| type= Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive
| url= https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&COMMAND=%27DES%3D99P%3BCAP%27&START_TIME=%272037-May-03%27&STOP_TIME=%272037-May-09%27&STEP_SIZE=%273%20hours%27&QUANTITIES=%2719%27
| access-date= 6 July 2023 }} (JPL#65 Soln.date: 2023-Jul-05)
| author1= C. T. Kowal
| editor1= B. G. Marsden
| title= Comet Kowal (1977f)
| url= http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/03000/03066.html#Item2
| website= IAU Circular
| date= 26 April 1991
| volume= 3066
| issue= 2
| bibcode= 1977IAUC.3066....2K }}
| author1= J. V. Scotti
| author2= B. G. Marsden
| editor1= D. W. Green
| title= Periodic Comet Kowal 1 (1991i)
| url= http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/05100/05195.html
| journal= IAU Circular
| date= 23 February 1991
| volume= 5195
| issue= 1
| bibcode= 1991IAUC.5195....1S }}
| title= 99P/Kowal 1 – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup
| url= https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=99P
| website= ssd.jpl.nasa.gov
| publisher= Jet Propulsion Laboratory
| access-date= 25 May 2025 }}
| author1= M. S. P. Kelley
| title= Small Apparent Outburst of Comet 99P/Kowal 1
| url= https://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=14628
| journal= The Astronomer's Telegram
| date= 14 May 2021
| volume= 14628
| bibcode= 2021ATel14628....1K }}
| title= 99P/Kowal Orbit
| url= http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=99P
| publisher= Minor Planet Center
| access-date= 24 February 2019 }}
}}
External links
- {{JPL Small Body|id=1000055}}
- [http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/0099P/index.html 99P/Kowal 1] at Seiichi Yoshida's website
- [http://cometography.com/pcomets/099p.html 99P/Kowal 1] at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography
{{PeriodicComets Navigator|98P/Takamizawa|100P/Hartley}}
{{Comets}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowal, 099P}}