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This is the second of two periodic comets discovered on consecutive days
by the NEAT team using the 1.2-m telescope at Haleakala Hawaii and announced in IAUC
8209.
The comet showed an 8" diameter coma and a broad tail
pointing 20" in p.a. 250° and a thin 20" tail in p.a. 330° in
a stack of images taken 2003 Sep 24 22:33-22:52 UT, though the thin tail
was not visible in a second stack made 4 hours later in slightly better
conditions.
From the initial calculations the two orbits appear broadly similar:
Comet
(source) |
P/2003 S1
MPEC
2003-S59 |
P/2003 S2
MPEC
2003-S65 |
| Perihelion date |
2004 Mar 25 |
2003 Jul 10 |
| perihelion distance q |
2.6 a.u. |
2.3 a.u. |
| Period (y) |
9.7 years |
8.6 years |
| inclination |
6° |
7° |
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