98P/Takamizawa (0098P)
TRY AGAIN 2027
Type: Periodic
Perihelion date: 4 January 2021
Perihelion distance (q): 1.7
Aphelion distance (Q) : 5.9
Period (years): 7.4
Eccentricity (e): 0.56
Inclination (i): 10.6
JPL orbit diagram
COBS lightcurve
Kesao Takamizawa (Japan) discovered this comet on 30 July 1984 in Capricornus.
He estimated the magnitude as 10 and said the comet was 2 arc minutes across. The
comet was confirmed by K. Saito (Tokyo Observatory, Dodaira Station, Japan) on 31
July and C. S. Morris and A. Hale (Whitaker Peak, California, USA) on 1 August. Saito
estimated the magnitude as 10, while Morris and Hale determined it as 9.5 and 9.3,
respectively. Morris added that a faint tail extended 4-5 arc minutes toward the west.
T. Seki (Geisei, Japan) found a prediscovery image on a photographic plate exposed
on 26 July. He estimated the magnitude of the trailed image as 17.
P. Wild (Zimmerwald, Switzerland) found prediscovery images on plates exposed on 6
and 8 July. Wild said the 8 July image had been noticed at the time because of its
"bright asymmetric coma and fanshaped tail," but it was rejected as a plate defect
when a similar image could not be found on the 6 July plate. An image was found on
the 6 July plate after the first orbit had been computed. The image consisted of a
"distinct nucleus" of magnitude 17 situated within a "very tenuous coma." The comet's
total magnitude was estimated as 16 on the 6th and 13 on the 8th.
The first orbit was published on 3 August. Brian G. Marsden (Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams) computed a parabolic orbit using 8 positions obtained during
the period of 31 July to 2 August. It indicated a perihelion date of 5 May 1984 and a
perihelion distance of 1.56 AU. He added, "It is quite probable that the comet is a
short-period one." On 7 August, International Astronomical Union Circular number
3970 said S. Nakano (Tokyo, Japan) and Marsden had independently confirmed the
comet moved in a short-period orbit. Perihelion was expected between 23 and 26
May at a distance of about 1.57 AU.
The calculations indicated the orbital period was between 6.49 and 7.23 years. After
the prediscovery images were announced, Marsden published a new orbit on 20
August, which indicated a perihelion date of 24 May 1984 and an orbital period of
7.26 years.
The comet faded after its discovery, having already passed both it perihelion and
closest distance from Earth. By the end of August it was near magnitude 10.5 and it
was near magnitude 12 by the end of September. The comet was last seen on 25
November.
The comet was next recovered on 17 February 1991 by James V. Scotti (University of
Arizona, USA) with the Spacewatch telescope. The total magnitude was then
determined as between 19.6 and 19.9. Scotti said there was a tail extending about 30
arc seconds toward PA 285-290 degrees. His precise positions indicated the
prediction required a correction of -0.5 day. Although the comet was expected to
reach magnitude 16 during July and August, observations by amateur astronomers
during August revealed the comet had reached magnitude 14. The comet was kept
under observation until 13 September.
The comet next returned to perihelion on 7 November 1998. This was not a favorable
apparition, with only 13 observations being made during the period of 2 March to 19
June 1998. The brightest reported magnitude was 18.7.
Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude)
Date
10x10 mag
Error
VEmag
Coma '
15-Mar-13
03-Apr-13
20.18
0.13
20.2
0.1
15-Apr-13
19.31
0.04
07-Jun-13
17.98
0.11
17.8
0.2
24-Jun-13
16.84
0.07
15.6
0.2
05-Jul-13
16.83
0.05
16.0
0.4
15-Jul-13
16.19
0.06
15.2
0.2
28-Jul-13
15.78
0.02
14.5
0.4
07-Aug-13
15.95
0.03
14.7
0.4
19-Aug-13
15.96
0.06
14.4
0.3
30-Aug-13
16.35
0.03
15.3
0.3
18-Sep-13
16.15
0.06
15.8
0.3
11-Nov-13
17.61
0.15
16.9
0.2