70P/Kojima

70P/Kojima

Discovery
Discovered by	Nobuhisa Kojima at Ishiki, Aichi, Japan
Discovery date	27 December 1970
Orbital characteristics ^A
Epoch	2014-Dec-9
Aphelion	5,345 AU
Perihelion	2.0068 AU
Semi-major axis	3.6759 AU
Eccentricity	0.4541
Orbital period	7.05 yr
Inclination	6.6003°
Last perihelion	2014
Next perihelion	2021

70P/Kojima is a periodic comet in the Solar System with a current orbital period of 7.05 years.^[1][2]

It was discovered at Ishiki, Aichi, Japan by Nobuhisa Kojima, who estimated its brightness at magnitude 14. Its parabolic orbit was calculated by Kiichirō Furukawa to have a perihelion date of 1 November 1970. This was revised on the basis of further observations to an elliptical orbit with a perihelion of 7 October and an orbital period of 6.16.

Hiroki Kosai and Furukawa relocated the comet on 9 December 1977 at its next predicted apparition with the 105 cm Schmidt telescope at the Kiso Station of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, estimating its brightness at magnitude 16. It was subsequently observed in 1985/1986 and 1992/1994 by Spacewatch with magnitudes of 20 and 22.1. The comet then passed close to Jupiter, which reduced the perihelion distance from 2.4 AU (Astronomical Unit) to 1.97 AU, increased the eccentricity from 0.39 to 0.46 and reduced the orbital period from 7.85 to 6.99.

See also

• List of numbered comets

References

1. "70P/Kojima". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
2. "Elements and Ephemeris for 70P/Kojima". International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 22 February 2015.