Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T20:41:51.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comet Tempel-Tuttle and the Leonid Meteors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Donald K. Yeomans
Donald K. Yeomans*
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Lab California Institute of TechnologyPasadena CA91109

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The annual November Leonid meteor showers and the occasional Leonid meteor storms (e.g. 1833, 1966) are far better known than is the Leonid parent body, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Since A.D. 902, enhanced Leonid meteor showers have been recorded around the time of the parent comet’s returns to perihelion (Yeomans 1981). To date, the parent comet itself, however, has not been seen for more than a few days at any apparition except in late 1865 and early 1866. The impending perihelion return of comet Tempel-Tuttle again raises the possibility of strong meteor displays in 1998-99 as well as a chance to observe the elusive parent comet.

Type
II. Joint Discussions
Information
Highlights of Astronomy , Volume 11 , Issue 2: Highlights of Astronomy. As presented at the XXIIIrd General Assembly of the IAU (Part B), 1997 , 1998 , pp. 1009 - 1010
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1998

References

Hainaut, O.R. (1997), IAU Circular 6579.Google Scholar
Hind, J.R. (1873), On two probable early appearances of the comet of the November meteors (1866 I. Tempel), Mrm. Not. R. Astr. Soc., 33, 48–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanda, S. (1932), On the orbits of the comet of 1366 A.D. and of 868 A.D. Japan. J. Astron. Geophys., 10, 30 Google Scholar
Kirch, G. (1737), Observatio cometae A. 1699 in suprema puppi navis Argus. Miscellanea Berolinensia, 5, 49 Google Scholar
Nakano, S. and Hasegawa, I. (1996), 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, Minor Planet Circular 27288.Google Scholar
Schubart, J. (1965), Comet Tempel-Tuttle (1866 I). IAU Circular 1907.Google Scholar
Yeomans, D.K. (1981), Comet tempel-Tuttle and the Leonid meteors Icarus, 47, 492–499 Google Scholar
Yeomans, D.K., Yau, K.C. and Weissman, P.R. (1996),The Impending Appearance of comet Tempel-Tuttle and the Leonid Meteors. Icarus, 47, 407–413 Google Scholar