C/1963 A1 (Ikeya)

< C
C/1963 A1 (Ikeya)
Comet Ikeya 1963a next to α Piscium on 14 March 1963
Discovery
Discovered byKaoru Ikeya
Discovery siteMaisaka, Japan
Discovery date2 January 1963
Designations
1963a
1963 I
Orbital characteristics
Epoch26 April 1963 (JD 2438145.5)
Observation arc278 days
Number of
observations
33
Aphelion190.5 AU
Perihelion0.632 AU
Semi-major axis95.55 AU
Eccentricity0.99338
Orbital period934 years
Inclination160.64°
53.22°
Argument of
periapsis
336.30°
Last perihelion21 March 1963
TJupiter–0.874
Earth MOID0.2364 AU
Jupiter MOID0.5942 AU
Physical characteristics
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
15.0
2.8
(1963 apparition)

C/1963 A1 (Ikeya), also known as Comet 1963I and 1963a, is a long period comet discovered by Kaoru Ikeya on 2 January 1963. The comet last passed perihelion on 21 March 1963, when it reached an apparent magnitude of 2.8.