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C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)

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C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)
Discovery[1]
Discovered byKacper Wierzchoś
Discovery siteMount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date3 March 2024
Designations
CK24E010[2]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch16 May 2024 (JD 2460446.5)
Observation arc282 days
Earliest precovery date15 February 2024[3]
Number of
observations		294
Perihelion0.5656 AU (84.61 million km)
Semi-major axis>10,000 AU
Eccentricity1.000026
Inclination75.233°
108.117°
Argument of
periapsis		243.657°
Longitude of
perihelion		135.306°
Next perihelion20 January 2026
TJupiter0.238
Earth MOID0.200 AU
Jupiter MOID1.902 AU
Physical characteristics[5]
Mean radius
~13.7 km (8.5 mi)
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		4.9

C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is a hyperbolic Oort cloud comet, discovered on 3 March 2024 by Polish astronomer Kacper Wierzchoś. It will reach perihelion on 20 January 2026, when it could reach an apparent magnitude of +5.

Observational history

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Discovery

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During a routine Mt. Lemmon survey (G96) search on 3 March 2024, one of the scientists participating in the project, Kacper Wierzchoś, spotted a moving object in four, 30-second exposure images taken using an f/1.6 1.5 m (59 in) Cassegrain telescope, equipped with a 111.5 megapixel (10,560 x 10,560 pixel) CCD. It appeared as a 20th-magnitude object in the constellation Draco, about 2 degrees north of the star ν Dra.[6] Since the discovery announcement, the Zwicky Transient Facility have reported that they obtained precovery images of the comet between 15 and 29 February 2024.[3] The comet was reported to have a condensed coma about 4 arcseconds in diameter and a tail about 6 arcseconds long.[1][2]

Follow-up observations

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The comet was observed by the James Webb Space Telescope at a distance of 7.0 AU (1.05 billion km) from the Sun in early 2025, measuring its spectra and dust production rates in infrared light.[5]

Perihelion

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The comet will approach perihelion on 20 January 2026 around 18 UT.[7] It will appear about 21 degrees from the Sun and will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Peak brightness will reach approximately +5 magnitude, meaning it could be visible through binoculars.[8] It will be about 1.351 AU (202.1 million km; 125.6 million mi) from Earth.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b D. W. Green (7 March 2024). "Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2175.
  2. ^ a b "MPEC 2024-E102: Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b J. Shanklin (21 December 2024). "BAA Comet Section: New Comets Discovered in 2024". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  4. ^ "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b C. Snodgrass; C. E. Holt; M. S. P. Kelley; C. Opitom; A. Guilbert-Lepoutre; et al. (2025). "First JWST spectrum of distant activity in Long Period Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 541 (1): 8–13. arXiv:2503.14071. Bibcode:2025MNRAS.541L...8S. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slaf046.
  6. ^ "Facilities". Catalina Sky Survey. University of Arizona. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Observation list for C/2024 E1". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b G. van Buitenen. "C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)". astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
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