96P/Machholz

Comet 96P/Machholz or 96P/Machholz 1[4] is a short-period sungrazing comet discovered on May 12, 1986, by amateur astronomer Donald Machholz on Loma Prieta peak, in central California using 130 millimetres (5.1 in) binoculars.[4][5] On June 6, 1986, 96P/Machholz passed 0.404 AU (60,400,000 km; 37,600,000 mi) from the Earth.[1] 96P/Machholz last came to perihelion on January 31, 2023.[2] The comet has an estimated diameter of around 6.4 km (4.0 mi).[6]

96P/Machholz
96P/Machholz as seen by STEREO-A in April 2007
Discovery
Discovered byDonald Machholz[1]
Discovery dateMay 12, 1986
Designations
96P, Machholz, Machholz 1, 1986 J2, 1991 XII, 1986e, 1986 VII
Orbital characteristics
Epoch2028-May-29
(JD 2461920.5)[2]
Aphelion5.944 AU
Perihelion0.1160 AU
(38% of Mercury's perihelion)
Semi-major axis3.030 AU
Eccentricity0.9617
Orbital period5.27 yr
Max. orbital speed122 km/s (440,000 km/h)[3]
Inclination57.49°
Last perihelionJanuary 31, 2023, 02:02 UTC[2]
October 27, 2017, 23:03 UTC[2]
Next perihelion≈May 12, 2028[3]

96P/Machholz is unusual among comets in several respects. Other than small SOHO comets, its highly eccentric 5.29 year orbit has the smallest perihelion distance known among numbered/regular short-period comets,[7] bringing it considerably closer to the Sun than the orbit of Mercury. It is also the only known short-period comet with both high orbital inclination and high eccentricity.[6] In 2007, 96P/Machholz was found to be both carbon-depleted and cyanogen-depleted, a chemical composition nearly unique among comets with known compositions.[8][9] The chemical composition implies a different and possible extrasolar origin.[10][11]

Orbit

The orbit of 96P/Machholz corresponds to the Arietids and the Marsden and Kracht comet groups.[12] Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter, TJ, is 1.94 and comets are generally classified as Jupiter family if TJ > 2.[6] Orbital integrations indicate that TJ was greater than 2 about 2500 years ago.[6] 96P/Machholz is currently in a 9:4 orbital resonance with Jupiter.[6] It will not make another close approach to the Earth until 2028, when it will pass at a distance of 0.3197 AU (47,830,000 km; 29,720,000 mi).[1] It may eventually be ejected from the Solar System.[13]

96P/Machholz closest Earth approach around 2139-Jun-13[1]
Date & time of
closest approach		 Earth distance
(AU)		 Sun distance
(AU)		 Velocity
wrt Earth
(km/s)		 Velocity
wrt Sun
(km/s)		 Uncertainty
region
(3-sigma)		 Reference
2139-Jun-13 23:28 ± 13 hours0.179 AU (26.8 million km; 16.6 million mi; 70 LD)1.06 AU (159 million km; 99 million mi; 410 LD)41.437.1± 500 thousand kmHorizons

Perihelion
Perihelion distance
at different epochs[14]
EpochPerihelion
(AU)
18970.169
19280.152
19390.145
19750.133
19860.127
20230.116
20380.109
20810.095
21020.093

96P/Machholz has a perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) of 0.116 AU (17.4 million km) for 2028.[2] At perihelion Comet Machholz passes the Sun at 122 kilometers per second (440,000 kilometers per hour).[3] It comes closer to the Sun than any numbered comet less than 321P/SOHO.[7] Between 1897 and 2102 perihelion gradually drops from 0.17 AU (25 million km) to 0.09 AU (13 million km).[14] 2081 will be the first perihelion below 0.1 AU.[14]

Observations

Machholz 1 entered the field of view of the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017, where it was seen by the corona-observing LASCO instrument in its C2 and C3 coronagraphs.[4][15]

2001/02 perihelion
2001/2002 perihelion starmap

During the 2001/2002 passage the comet brightened to magnitude −2,[16] and was very impressive as seen by SOHO.[17]

2007 perihelion
Starmap of 2007 perihelion

In 2007, it appeared in SOHO's LASCO C3's field of view from April 2 to 6, peaking in brightness on April 4, 2007,[18] around magnitude +2.[19] In these observations, its coma was substantially smaller than the Sun in volume, but the forward scattering of light made the comet appear significantly brighter.[20]

The comet SOHO 2333 is believed to be a fragment of Machholz that came off during the 2007 perihelion. It was discovered by Indian amateur astronomer Prafull Sharma in August 2012 by analyzing data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, specifically the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph.[21] Data analysis of this sort has become commonplace based on public availability of SOHO images. Sharma became the third Indian to have discovered a comet in this manner.[22]

2012 perihelion
Starmap of 2012 perihelion

Between July 12–17, 2012,[10] 96P/Machholz was visible in the SOHO LASCO/C3 field of view and expected to brighten to about magnitude +2.[23] Two small faint fragments of 96P/Machholz were detected in the SOHO C2 images.[24] The fragments were five hours ahead of 96P/Machholz, and probably fragmented from the comet during the 2007 perihelion passage.[24]

2017 perihelion
Starmap for 2017 perihelion
The orbit of Machholz 1 passes just outside Jupiter and inside the orbit of Mercury.

The 2017 perihelion was on October 27, 2017. At closest approach, it passed 0.12395 AU (18,543,000 km; 11,522,000 mi) from the Sun. Coronagraphs on SOHO were monitoring the flyby for a fifth time. Its peak brightness was expected to be about 2.0, when it was closest to the Sun.[25]

2023 perihelion
96P/Machholz 79 minutes before sunrise on 10 Feb 2023 (lower right of center)

The January 31, 2023 perihelion passage was the sixth passage observed by SOHO.[26] On February 4, 2023, the comet was recovered in the morning sky 2 degrees above the horizon at around magnitude 7.[27]

Using observations through October 2022, which is three months before the 2023 perihelion passage, the comet will next come to perihelion around May 12, 2028.[3]

Unusual composition

Spectrographic analysis of the coma of 96P/Machholz was made during its 2007 apparition, as part of the Lowell Observatory comet composition long-term observing program.[28] When compared with the measured abundances of five molecular species in the comae of the other 150 comets in their database, these measurements showed 96P/Machholz to have far fewer carbon molecules.[6] These other comets had on average 72 times as much cyanogen as 96P/Machholz.

The only comet previously seen with similar depletion both in carbon-chain molecules and cyanogens is C/1988 Y1 (Yanaka), but it has a substantially different orbit.[29]

There are currently three hypotheses to explain the chemical composition of 96P/Machholz. One hypothesis for the difference is that 96P/Machholz was an interstellar comet from outside the Solar System and was captured by the Sun.[30] Other possibilities are that it formed in an extremely cold region of the Solar System (such that most carbon gets trapped in other molecules). Given how close it approaches the Sun at perihelion, repeated baking by the Sun may have stripped most of its cyanogen.

Animation of 96P/Machholz around Sun - 1600-2400
   96P/Machholz ·    Earth ·    Sun

The following table represents future orbital elements for 96P keeping in mind that results hundreds of years in the future are highly speculative given the uncertain behavior of nongravitational forces over long time intervals and divergent solutions. By the year 2235 the uncertainty in the comets position is more than 1 billion km (6.7 AU).[31]

Osculating elements as of January 1[32]
Year1600170018001900200021002200230024002500
Periapsis (au)0.340.270.230.170.120.090.070.040.030.03
Apoapsis (au)5.735.775.855.885.905.976.016.016.016.02
Inclination (degrees)70.8769.6566.3563.6260.1153.2044.0032.3615.0816.82
Eccentricity0.890.910.930.940.960.970.980.990.990.99

References
  1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 96P/Machholz 1". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  2. "96P/Machholz Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  3. "Horizons Batch for 96P/Machholz (90000922) on 2028-May-12" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved July 6, 2023. (JPL#K233/7/Soln.date: 2023-Jul-05)
  4. Kronk, Gary W. "96P/Machholz 1". Cometography. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  5. "Don Machholz and Comet 96P". Astronomy.com. March 29, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  6. Schleicher, David G. (2008). "The Extremely Anomalous Molecular Abundances of Comet 96P/MACHHOLZ 1 from Narrowband Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 136 (5): 2204–2213. Bibcode:2008AJ....136.2204S. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/136/5/2204.
  7. "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: numbered comets". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  8. "IAU Circular 8842". International Astronomical Union. June 6, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  9. Langland-Shula, Laura E. & Smith, Graeme H. (2007). "The Unusual Spectrum of Comet 96P/Machholz". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 664 (2): L119–L122. arXiv:0706.2022. Bibcode:2007ApJ...664L.119L. doi:10.1086/520839. S2CID 119134664.
  10. MacRobert, Alan (December 2, 2008). "A Very Oddball Comet". Sky & Telescope. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  11. Ferreira, Becky (February 3, 2023). "We May Have Had an Interstellar Visitor for Eons and Scientists Are Stumped - "I think it's going to be inconclusive, if not impossible to demonstrate conclusively," one physicist said of the possible interstellar comet". Vice. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  12. Katsuhito, Ohtsuka; et al. (February 2003). "On the Association among Periodic Comet 96P/Machholz, Arietids, the Marsden Comet Group, and the Kracht Comet Group". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 55 (1): 321–324. Bibcode:2003PASJ...55..321O. doi:10.1093/pasj/55.1.321.
  13. de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; et al. (January 11, 2015). "Flipping minor bodies: what comet 96P/Machholz 1 can tell us about the orbital evolution of extreme trans-Neptunian objects and the production of near-Earth objects on retrograde orbits". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 446 (2): 1867–1873. arXiv:1410.6307. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.446.1867D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu2230.
  14. Kinoshita, Kazuo (June 24, 2017). "96P/Machholz past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  15. Boschat, Mike (January 7, 2002). "Comet 96P/Machholz now in the SOHO C3 images". Meteorobs.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  16. Yoshida, Seiichi (May 29, 2007). "96P/Machholz 1 (2002)". Aerith.net. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  17. "Exclusive Views of Comet 96P/Machholz". Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. NASA. January 6–10, 2002. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  18. "SOHO Movie Theater". Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  19. Yoshida, Seiichi (September 20, 2007). "96P/Machholz 1 (2007)". Aerith.net. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  20. Marcus, Joseph C. (April 2007). "Forward-Scattering Enhancement of Comet Brightness. I. Background and Model". International Comet Quarterly. 29 (2): 39–66. Bibcode:2007ICQ....29...39M.
  21. "Delhi boy discovers a new comet". ZeeNews. August 11, 2012.
  22. "SOHO Comet Discoverers' Totals". Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  23. Kusiak, Michal. "Transits of Objects through the LASCO/C3 field of view (FOV) in 2012". Sungrazer Project. United States Navy. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  24. Battams, Karl (July 16, 2012). "Breaking News: Comet Machholz had babies!!". Sungrazer Project. United States Navy. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  25. "SOHO Pick of the Week". NASA. October 20, 2017.
  26. Karl Battams (3 Feb 2023)
  27. Qicheng Zhang (4 Feb 2023) // Michael Jäger (5 Feb 2023)
  28. "A New Compositional Class of Comets: from Fire, Ice, or Beyond? Lowell Observatory Astronomer Confirms New Class of Comets" (Press release). Lowell Observatory. December 2, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  29. Fink, Uwe (September 1992). "Comet Yanaka (1988r): A New Class of Carbon-Poor Comet". Science. 257 (5078): 1926–9. Bibcode:1992Sci...257.1926F. doi:10.1126/science.257.5078.1926. PMID 17753496. S2CID 7644921.
  30. Bryner, Jeanna (December 2, 2008). "Odd Comet Possibly from Another Star System". Space.com.
  31. JPL Horizons RNG_3sigma (uncertainty region) for 96P
  32. "96P/Machholz". JPL/Horizons.
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