87P/Bus

87P/Bus

Discovery
Discovered by	Schelte J. Bus
Discovery date	1981
Alternative designations	Bus/1981b; Bus/1981 XI;
Orbital characteristics ^A
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	December 19, 2013[1][2] July 7, 2007
Next perihelion	2020-May-09[3]

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 2013.^[4]

References

1. Syuichi Nakano (2010-04-29). "87P/Bus (NK 1931)". OAA Computing and Minor Planet Sections. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
2. 87P past, present and future orbital elements
3. "87P/Bus Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
4. "87/P Bus". Seiichi Yoshida. Retrieved 15 May 2015.

• IAUC 3578

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 87P/Bus – Seiichi Yoshida @ aerith.net