178P/Hug–Bell is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It was discovered by Northeast Kansas Amateur Astronomers' League members Gary Hug and Graham Bell and is thought to be the first periodic comet to be discovered by amateurs. It was declared a comet less than two days after its initial discovery, after having its course confirmed on previous images.[4]
Hug-Bell's orbital period is about seven years; its orbit is eccentric, though less so than many comets. Hug-Bell's orbit lies entirely outside the orbit of Mars, but at its aphelion overlaps in solar distance with the orbit of Jupiter. Because it never comes closer to the Sun than about 2 AU, it is never expected to be a very bright comet, with a typical perihelion magnitude of 18–19.[5]
References
- ^ "178P/Hug-Bell Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
- ^ Syuichi Nakano (2010-04-09). "178P/Hug-Bell (NK 1910)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 178P/Hug–Bell on 2027-Jun-21" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2023-07-06. (JPL#50/Soln.date: 2021-Apr-15)
- ^ Winter, Jennifer; Winter, Vic. "Comet Hug-Bell Discovery!". ICSTARS Astronomy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
- ^ "178P/Hug-Bell (1999)". Seiichi Yoshida. Archived from the original on Sep 30, 2007. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- 178P/Hug-Bell – Seiichi Yoshida @ aerith.net
- 178P/Hug-Bell @ JPL Small-Body Database Browser
