Ryves Comet

Ryves Comet, also known as C/1931 P1, 1931 E or 1931c, was discovered by Percy Mayow Ryves, an English amateur astronomer, on August 14, 1931. His find was made using a small telescope in Zaragoza, Spain. The comet was later observed from the Yerkes Observatory and the University of California Leuschner Observatory.

Ryves Comet
Discovery
Discovered byPercy Mayow Ryves
Discovery dateAugust 14, 1931
Designations
1931c; 1931 E; C/1931 P1
Orbital characteristics
Perihelion7 million miles
Semi-major axisN/A
Orbital periodN/A
Last perihelion26 August 1931
Next perihelionejection

Very near Sun

It appeared as a ball of hot gas traveling at one hundred miles per second from the Naval Observatory. The comet passed within 7,000,000 miles of the Sun on August 26. A wanderer in the Solar System, it is considered unlikely to return from outer space.[1]

Ryves Comet was of ninth magnitude brightness by October 9, 1931, and was not observable with the naked eye. Astronomers at the Yerkes Observatory waited until just prior to dawn to observe and photograph it. The comet came into view just ahead of the Sun. Yerkes Observatory director, Edwin B. Frost, determined that Ryves Comet was two hours east of the Sun and seven degrees removed from it. In October it was one hundred times fainter than when it was first observed in August.[2]

References
  1. "Ryves Comet Passes at 100 Miles a Second; Heads for Void, Probably Never to Return". New York Times. August 28, 1931. p. 13.
  2. "Elusive Ryves Comet Is Photographed; Yerkes Observer Gets Picture as Wanderer Rises on Horizon Ahead of Sun". New York Times. October 9, 1931. p. 2.
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