TypePeriodicPerihelion Date29 September 2020Perihelion Distance (q)3.1 Aphelion Distance (Q)6.1 Period (Years)9.9 Eccentricity (e)0.32 Inclination (i)32.6 Click for NASA orbit diagram
254P/McNaught = 2010 T1Rob McNaught discovered a diffuse 19th mag comet during the Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt telescope on 4 October 2010. Following posting on the NEOCP, Brian Marsden identified the object in previous SSS astrometry from 11 September, and it was confirmed by other observers. M. Meyer, Limburg, Germany, identified observations of comet P/2010 T1 (cf. IAUC 9172) on NEAT images obtained at Palomar on 23 October 2001 (when the comet was slightly diffuse) and 18 December, as well as a single trail on a Digitized Sky Survey image obtained with the 1.2-m Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring on 5 October 1980 ; the identity of the astrometry (published on MPC 76729) was confirmed by S. Nakano (Sumoto, Japan) and by G. V. Williams (Minor Planet Center), leading to the assignment of the permanent number 254P to this comet. Date10x10 magErrorKphot magComa '13-Sep-2018.70 0.19 17.80.4