56P/Slaughter-Burnham (0056P)

TRY AGAIN 2026

Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 19 December 2027 Perihelion distance (q): 2.5 Aphelion distance (Q) : 7.6 Period (years): 11.4 Eccentricity (e): 0.51 Inclination (i): 8.2 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve Atlas C. D. Slaughter and R. Burnham, Jr. (Lowell Observatory, Arizona, USA) were blink examining plates exposed with the 13-inch photographic telescope during the Proper Motion Survey. On 27 January 1959 they found a comet on a plate exposed on 10 December 1958. They estimated the magnitude as 16, and described it as diffuse, with a central condensation. Further examination revealed 8 additional plates showing the comet on December 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15, and this enabled E. Roemer to compute an elliptical orbit and ephemeris, which revealed a perihelion date of 4 August 1958 and an orbital period of 11.18 years. Although searches at Lowell Observatory during the last days of January proved fruitless, Roemer managed to photograph it on 2 February. She said there was only a trace of coma surrounding a nearly stellar central condensation of about magnitude 18.0. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 29-Sep-16 16.04 0.05 14.5 0.3 06-Oct-16 16.12 0.01 14.6 0.3 29-Oct-16 16.07 0.01 14.9 0.3 10-Nov-16 15.85 0.07 13.4 0.6 23-Nov-16 15.84 0.03 14.0 0.4 19-Dec-16 16.39 0.01 15.1 0.4 26-Dec-16 16.57 0.04 14.4 0.4 31-Dec-16 16.75 0.01 14.6 0.4 22-Jan-17 17.20 0.02 14.2 0.4 14-Feb-17 18.01 0.15 16.3 0.2