Comet Skorichenko–George

C/1989 Y1
(Skorichenko–George)

Discovery
Discovered by:	Boris Skoritchenko & Doug George
Discovery date:	December 17, 1989
Alternate designations:	1990 VI, 1989e1
Orbital characteristics A
Aphelion distance:	~3140 AU[1]
Perihelion distance:	1.569172
Semi-major axis:	~1571 AU[1]
Eccentricity:	1.000308
Orbital period:	~62,000 yr[1]
Inclination:	59.3660
Last perihelion:	April 11, 1990
Next perihelion:	unknown

Comet Skorichenko–George (sometimes spelled Scorichenko–George) is also designated C/1989 Y1, 1990 VI, and 1989e₁. It was discovered on December 17, 1989 by Doug George of Kanata (near Ottawa), Ontario, Canada, and Soviet astronomer Boris Skoritchenko (Mezmay, Krasnodar Krai). Skoritchenko was using 8×20 binoculars,^[2] whilst George was using a 16" reflector and had searched for 65 hours. The comet was magnitude 10.5 in the northern evening sky. It passed its perihelion on April 11, 1990 at a distant 1.57 AU,^[3] and remained in the Earth's evening sky through April 1990, at magnitude 9–10.

C₂ emission bands were observed in the comet Skorichenko-George.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/1989 Y1 (Skorichenko-George)". http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=C/1989+Y1. Retrieved 2011-02-04.  (Solution using the Solar System Barycenter and barycentric coordinates. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
2. ^ V. Korneyev's home page (Russian)
3. ^ JPL Small-Body Database Browser

Links

• Saguaro Astronomy Club News, #157, February 1990