6P/d'Arrest
Comet d'Arrest photographed by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 21 September 2021 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Heinrich Louis d'Arrest |
| Discovery site | Leipzig, Germany |
| Discovery date | June 28, 1851 |
| Designations | |
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| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) |
| Observation arc | 344 years |
| Earliest precovery date | September 11, 1678 |
| Number of observations | 3,732 |
| Aphelion | 5.639 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.353 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.497 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.61247 |
| Orbital period | 6.539 years |
| Inclination | 19.511° |
| 138.94° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 178.09° |
| Mean anomaly | 79.175° |
| Last perihelion | September 17, 2021 |
| Next perihelion | March 31, 2028 |
| TJupiter | 2.709 |
| Earth MOID | 0.343 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.208 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 3.2 km (2.0 mi) |
| 6.67±0.03 hours | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 15.9 |
6P/d'Arrest (also known as d'Arrest's Comet or Comet d'Arrest) is a periodic comet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter once every 6.54 years. It is the second of three comets discovered by German astronomer, Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest. It next comes to perihelion 1.35 AU from the Sun on March 31, 2028, when it is expected to brighten to around apparent magnitude 11.