C/1942 C1 (Whipple–Bernasconi–Kulin)

C/1942 C1 (Whipple–Bernasconi–Kulin)
Comet W–B–K photographed by George van Biesbroeck on 10 March 1942.
Discovery
Discovered by
Discovery site
Discovery date25 January 1942
10–13 February 1942
Designations
1942 IV, 1942a
Orbital characteristics
Epoch29 March 1942 (JD 2430447.5)
Observation arc70 days
Earliest precovery date28 December 1941
Number of
observations
8
Perihelion1.445 AU
Eccentricity1.00102
Inclination79.454°
340.93°
Argument of
periapsis
223.41°
Mean anomaly–0.001°
Last perihelion30 April 1942
Earth MOID0.622 AU
Jupiter MOID1.615 AU
Physical characteristics
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
4.4
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
8.6
5.92
(1942 apparition)

Comet Whipple–Bernasconi–Kulin, formally designated as C/1942 C1, is a non-periodic comet that was observed from December 1941 to January 1943. It was independently discovered by three astronomers, Fred Lawrence Whipple, Giovanni Bernasconi and György Kulin, respectively.