5D/Brorsen (also known as Brorsen's Comet or Comet Brorsen) is a comet discovered February 26, 1846, by the Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen.
The perihelion of 5D/Brorsen was February 25, just a day before its discovery, and maintained the approach to Earth after that, passing closest to Earth on March 27 (at a distance of 0.52 AU). As a result of this close encounter to Earth the comet's coma diameter increased. Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt ...
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5D/Brorsen (also known as Brorsen's Comet or Comet Brorsen) is a comet discovered February 26, 1846, by the Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen.
The perihelion of 5D/Brorsen was February 25, just a day before its discovery, and maintained the approach to Earth after that, passing closest to Earth on March 27 (at a distance of 0.52 AU). As a result of this close encounter to Earth the comet's coma diameter increased. Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt estimating it as 3 to 4 arcmin across on March 9, and 8 to 10 arcmin across on the 22nd of that same month. Last seen on April 22, it was stationed about 20 degrees from the north celestial pole. By the end of this first apparition the orbital period was identified as 5.5 years. It was discovered that a close approach to Jupiter in 1842 put in its discovery orbit.
The comet's 5.5 year period would mean that apparitions would alternate between good and poor. As expected, the comet was missed in its 1851 apparition, when the comet only came as...
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