Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks: Identification with Comets C/1385 U1 and C/1457 A1

2020/12/31 by Maik Meyer, Meyer, Maik, Takao Kobayashi +6 · 1 voice
Chemistry · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications #astro-ph.EP #physics.hist-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2012.15583

Submitted and to be published in the International Comet Quarterly, 16 pages, 6 figures

arxiv created 2020/12/31 · arxiv published 2020/12/31 · arxiv updated 2021/01/01

Abstract

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is an intermediate-period comet (orbital period around 71 years) comparable to 1P/Halley. The comet was seen first in 1812, and then again in 1883 and 1954. The comet was recovered in 2020 an will pass its perihelion passage 2024. We report the unambiguous identification of this comet with the historic comets C/1385 U1 and C/1457 A1; we were able to link both historic apparitions with 12P. The link is also supported by the historic descriptions of its appearance and brightness. Further, we discuss other historical comets for possible relationships with 12P and identify a comet seen in 245 as a probable earliest recorded sighting of 12P/Pons-Brooks.

Discussions

• Comet 12P is getting a lot of publicity now and many resources still do not reflect that it was already recorded in history in 1385 & 1457 (and possibly even in 245!). https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.1558 [bsky, 4 points, 0 comments]

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