Comet McNaught–Russell

Comet C/1993 Y1 (McNaught–Russell) is a long (time) period comet that reached a maximum magnitude of 6.5 (just below naked eye level) in early 1994. It was discovered by Robert H. McNaught and Kenneth S. Russell using the U.K. Schmidt Telescope in Australia. McNaught and Russell worked at Siding Spring Observatory and together discovered five comets between 1991 and 1995.

C/1993 Y1 (McNaught–Russell)
Discovery
Discovered byRobert H. McNaught
Kenneth S. Russell
Discovery dateDecember 17, 1993 [1]
Designations
1994 XI
1993v
Orbital characteristics
Observation arc265 days
Number of
observations		377
Aphelion270 AU (inbound)
240 AU (outbound)[2]
Perihelion0.8676 AU
Eccentricity0.9932
Orbital period1600 years (inbound)
1300 years (outbound)[2]
1430 ± 30 a
Inclination51.59°
Last perihelionMarch 31, 1994

Orbit

Its orbital period was found to be very high – initially estimated at over 1400 years.

Historical records

It was noted by Francois Colas (Paris observatory) [3] and Ichiro Hasegawa [4] that the path of the comet coincided with a comet C/574 G1 recorded in AD 574 over a period from April 4 to May 23 by observers in China. This would give the comet a period of 1430 ± 30 years and so making it the longest period comet to be seen on two separate returns. Since the comet was not observed to approach any planets, its orbit should remain largely unchanged on its next return. This would place its next approach to the inner Solar System around 3300.

References
  1. IAUC 5910
  2. Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet McNaught-Russell (C/1993 Y1)". Retrieved 2023-08-25. (Solution using the Solar System's barycenter (Sun+Jupiter). Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
  3. Guinness Book of Astronomy, (1995), Guinness Publishing, London
  4. IAUC 5943
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