C/1861 J1 (Tebbutt)
Drawing of the Great Comet of 1861 by Edmund Weiss in his book Bilderatlas der Sternenwelt (1888) | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | John Tebbutt |
| Discovery site | Windsor, Australia |
| Discovery date | 13 May 1861 |
| Designations | |
| C/1500 H1, C/1861 J1 | |
| 1500 I, 1861 II | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 25 May 1861 (JD 2400920.5) |
| Observation arc | 362 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 7 May 1500 |
| Number of observations | 2,362 |
| Aphelion | 109.34 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.822 AU (1861) 0.829 AU (2267) |
| Semi-major axis | 55.083 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.98507 |
| Orbital period | 364.96±0.51 years |
| Inclination | 85.442° |
| 280.91° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 330.08° |
| Mean anomaly | –0.043° |
| Last perihelion | 12 June 1861 |
| Next perihelion | 2265–2267 |
| TJupiter | 0.183 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 0.5–2.7 (1500) 3.9 (1861) |
| –2.0 (1861 apparition) | |
The Great Comet of 1861, formally designated as C/1861 J1 and 1861 II, is a long-period comet that was visible to the naked eye for approximately 3 months. It was categorized as a great comet—one of the eight brightest comets of the 19th century.