60P/Tsuchinshan
Comet Tsuchinshan 2, imaged from the Zwicky Transient Facility on 4 January 2019 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | Purple Mountain Observatory |
| Discovery date | 11 January 1965 |
| Designations | |
| P/1965 A2, P/1971 S1 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 59.59 years |
| Number of observations | 1,656 |
| Aphelion | 5.143 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.646 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.529 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.53369 |
| Orbital period | 6.63 years |
| Inclination | 3.579° |
| 267.39° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 216.91° |
| Mean anomaly | 18.344° |
| Last perihelion | 20 July 2025 |
| Next perihelion | 10 March 2032 |
| TJupiter | 2.864 |
| Earth MOID | 0.640 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.128 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 0.69 km (0.43 mi) |
| |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 9.6 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.9 |
60P/Tsuchinshan, also known as Tsuchinshan 2, is a Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of around 6.63 years. Tsuchinshan is the Wade-Giles transliteration corresponding to the pinyin Zǐjīn Shān 紫金山, which is Mandarin Chinese for "Purple Mountain".