12P/Pons–Brooks
12P/Pons–Brooks photographed on 7 March 2024 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jean-Louis Pons William Robert Brooks |
| Discovery date | 12 July 1812 |
| Designations | |
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| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5) |
| Observation arc | 680–1,780 years |
| Earliest precovery date |
|
| Number of observations | 8,322 |
| Aphelion | 33.669 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.781 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 17.225 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.95466 |
| Orbital period | 71.491 years |
| Inclination | 74.190° |
| 255.86° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 199.01° |
| Mean anomaly | 5.223° |
| Last perihelion | 21 April 2024 |
| Next perihelion | 15 August 2095 |
| TJupiter | 0.598 |
| Earth MOID | 0.180 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.018 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 34±12 km (upper limit) 2.2 km (lower limit) |
| 57±1.0 hours | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 5.0 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 11.0 |
Comet Pons–Brooks is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 71 years. Comets with an orbital period of 20–200 years are referred to as Halley-type comets. It is one of the brightest known periodic comets, reaching an absolute visual magnitude of about 5 in its approach to perihelion. Comet Pons–Brooks was conclusively discovered at Marseilles Observatory in July 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons, and on its next appearance in 1883 by William Robert Brooks. However it has been confirmed 12P/Pons–Brooks was observed before the 19th century.
The last perihelion passage was 21 April 2024, with closest approach to Earth being 1.55 AU (232 million km) on 2 June 2024. During the 2024 apparition the comet brightened to a magnitude of 3.8.