Comet Bennett
Comet Bennett photographed by S. M. Larson and R. B. Minton on 30 March 1970 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | John Caister Bennett |
| Discovery site | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Discovery date | 28 December 1969 |
| Designations | |
| 1970 II, 1969i | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 12 April 1970 (JD 2440688.5) |
| Observation arc | 301 days |
| Number of observations | 529 |
| Aphelion | 289.54 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.538 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 145 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.99629 |
| Orbital period | 1,747 a |
| Inclination | 90.04° |
| 224.7° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 354.1° |
| Last perihelion | 20 March 1970 |
| Next perihelion | ~3600 |
| TJupiter | 0.035 |
| Earth MOID | 0.4690 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.6681 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 3.76±0.46 km |
| 0.66±0.13 | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 4.6 |
| 0.0 (1970 apparition) | |
Comet Bennett, formally known as C/1969 Y1 (old style 1970 II and 1969i), was one of the two bright comets observed in the 1970s, along with Comet West and is considered a great comet. The name is also borne by an altogether different comet, C/1974 V2. Discovered by John Caister Bennett on December 28, 1969, while still almost two AUs from the Sun, it reached perihelion on March 20, passing closest to Earth on 26 March 1970, as it receded, peaking at magnitude 0. It was last observed on 27 February 1971.