Jump to content

C/1974 C1 (Bradfield)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from C/1974 C1)

C/1974 C1 (Bradfield)
Comet C/1974 C1 (Bradfield) photographed by NASA's Joint Observatory for Cometary Research (JOCR) program on 23 March 1974.[1]
Discovery[2]
Discovered byWilliam A. Bradfield
Discovery siteDernancourt, Australia
Discovery date12 February 1974
Designations
1974 III, 1974b[3]
Orbital characteristics[4][5]
Epoch20 April 1974 (JD 2442157.5)
Observation arc277 days
Number of
observations
173
Aphelion~2,890 AU (inbound)
~2,830 AU (outbound)
Perihelion0.503 AU
Semi-major axis~1,890 AU
Eccentricity0.99973
Orbital period~54,800 years (inbound)
~53,300 years (outbound)
Inclination61.285°
143.73°
Argument of
periapsis
333.13°
Mean anomaly0.0004°
Last perihelion18 March 1974
TJupiter0.425
Earth MOID0.444 AU
Jupiter MOID0.667 AU
Physical characteristics[7][8]
Mean diameter
5–10 km (3.1–6.2 mi)
0.70
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
8.6
3.9
(1974 apparition)[6]

C/1974 C1 (Bradfield) is a non-periodic comet that became visible to the naked eye in 1974. It is the second of 18 comets discovered by William A. Bradfield.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ A. I. Ershkovich; M. B. Niedner Jr.; J. C. Brandt (1982). "On the flaring of cometary plasma tails". Astrophysical Journal. 262: 396–406. Bibcode:1982ApJ...262..396E. doi:10.1086/160433.
  2. ^ W. A. Bradfield; G. Thompson; D. Gans; M. P. Candy (15 February 1974). B. G. Marsden (ed.). "Comet Bradfield (1974b)". IAU Circular. 2633 (1). Bibcode:1974IAUC.2633....1B.
  3. ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/1974 C1 (Bradfield) in epoch 1800 and 2200". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 June 2025. (Solution using the Solar System's barycenter (Sun+Jupiter). Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
  5. ^ "C/1974 C1 (Bradfield) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Brightest comets seen since 1935". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  7. ^ E. P. Ney (1974). "Multiband photometry of Comets Kohoutek, Bennett, Bradfield, and Encke". Icarus. 23 (4): 551–560. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(74)90018-9.
  8. ^ F. M. Strauss (1979). "A technique for brightness measurements of cometary nuclei". Icarus. 39 (1): 65–68. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(79)90100-3.
[edit]