Comet Donati
Donati's Comet, Oxford, 7:30 p.m., 5 Oct. 1858 by William Turner | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Giovanni Battista Donati |
| Discovery date | 1858 |
| Designations | |
| 1858 VI | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 8 October 1858 (JD 2399960.5) |
| Observation arc | 270 days |
| Number of observations | 1,000 |
| Aphelion | ~289 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.578 AU |
| Semi-major axis | ~145 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.996295 |
| Orbital period | ~1,739 yr (outbound) |
| Inclination | 116.951° |
| 167.304° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 129.144° |
| Last perihelion | 30 September 1858 |
| Next perihelion | ≈3600 |
| TJupiter | –0.394 |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 2.96 km (1.84 mi) |
| 4.6 hours | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 3.3 |
| 0.0–1.0 (1858 apparition) | |
Comet Donati, or Donati's Comet, formally designated C/1858 L1 and 1858 VI, is a long-period comet named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who first observed it on June 2, 1858. After the Great Comet of 1811, it was the most brilliant comet that appeared in the 19th century. It was also the first comet to be photographed.