87P/Bus Knowpia

87P/Bus
Discovery
Discovered by	Schelte J. Bus
Discovery date	1981
Designations
Alternative designations	Bus/1981b; Bus/1981 XI;
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	4.798 AU
Perihelion	2.174 AU
Semi-major axis	3.486 AU
Eccentricity	0.3764
Orbital period	6.509 a
Inclination	2.5768°
Last perihelion	May 9, 2020; December 19, 2013; July 7, 2007
Next perihelion	2029-Jun-07

Comet 87P/Bus is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 6.5 years. It fits the definition of an Encke-type comet with (T_Jupiter > 3; a < a_Jupiter). It was discovered by Schelte J. Bus in 1981 on a plate taken with the 1.2m UK Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring, Australia. The discovery was announced in IAU Circular 3578 on March 4, 1981.

It has been observed on each of its subsequent apparitions, most recently in 2020.^[5]

References edit

^ "87P/Bus Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
^ Syuichi Nakano (2010-04-29). "87P/Bus (NK 1931)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
^ 87P past, present and future orbital elements
^ "Horizons Batch for 87P/Bus (90000883) on 2029-Jun-07" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2022-06-27. (JPL#K203/18 Soln.date: 2020-Sep-28)
^ "87/P Bus". Seiichi Yoshida. Retrieved 15 May 2015.