87P/Bus (0087P)

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Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 3 April 2020 Perihelion distance (q): 3.3 Aphelion distance (Q) : 5.3 Period (years): 9.0 Eccentricity (e): 0.23 Inclination (i): 2.7 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve S. J. Bus (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA) discovered this comet on a plate exposed with the 122-cm UK Schmidt telescope by K. S. Russell (Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia) on 2 March 1981. The plate was obtained as part of a survey of minor planets. Bus indicated a magnitude of 17.5 and described the comet as centrally condensed with a faint tail extending about 20" toward the northwest. A confirmation plate was obtained by Russell on 3 March. Following the calculation of the first orbits, Bus located prediscovery images of this comet on additional Siding Spring plates. The first plate was obtained by Russell on 9 February and revealed the comet at magnitude 19.5-20. The second plate was obtained by M. Hartley on 13 February and revealed the comet's magnitude as 20. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 31-Dec-19 19.79 0.16 19.4 0.2 02-Jan-20 19.74 0.23 19.1 0.2 21-Jan-20 19.41 0.27 19.1 0.2 22-Jan-20 19.22 0.10 18.8 0.2 29-Jan-20 19.31 0.47 18.8 0.2 18-Feb-20 18.81 0.03 18.5 0.2 18-Mar-20 17.81 0.03 16.9 0.5 25-Mar-20 17.43 0.04 16.6 0.5 01-Apr-20 17.16 0.06 16.8 0.3 21-May-20 17.98 0.08 16.8 0.5