Biela's Comet
A sketch of Biela's Comet in February 1846, soon after it split into two pieces | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Wilhelm von Biela (recognition of periodicity) |
| Discovery date | 27 February 1826 |
| Designations | |
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| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 29 September 1852 (JD 2397760.5) |
| Observation arc | ~80 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 8 March 1772 |
| Aphelion | 6.190 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.8606 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.5253 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.7559 |
| Orbital period | 6.619 years |
| Inclination | 12.550° |
| Last perihelion | 23 September 1852 (A) 24 September 1852 (B) |
| Next perihelion | Disintegrated |
| TJupiter | 2.531 |
| Earth MOID | 0.0005 AU (75,000 km) (Epoch 1832) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | ≈0.5 km (0.31 mi) (pre-breakup) |
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. Remnants have survived as a meteor shower, the Andromedids.
The comet was first recorded on 8 March 1772 by Jacques Leibax Montaigne; During the same apparition, it was independently discovered by Charles Messier. The comet was also recorded in 1805 by Jean-Louis Pons, but was not recognized as the same object at the time.