88P/Howell
 88P/Howell on 14 June 2026 at 11:01 UT imaged with a Unistellar 114mm smart telescope. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ellen Howell |
| Discovery date | August 29, 1981 |
| Designations | |
| 1981 X; 1987 VI; 1993 II | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 |
| Aphelion | 4.86 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.358 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.109 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.5615 |
| Orbital period | 5.48 yr |
| Inclination | 4.3819° |
| Last perihelion | 2026-03-18[1][2] 2020-Sep-26 |
| Next perihelion | 2031-Sep-08[3] |
| Earth MOID | 0.34 AU (51 million km; 130 LD) |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.46 AU (69 million km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.4 km[4] |
88P/Howell is a periodic comet roughly 4 km in diameter with a 5.5 year orbital period. It was discovered on 29 August 1981, by Ellen Howell.[5] In 1975 the comet's perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) was 1.9 AU,[1] but a close approach to Jupiter in 1978[4] perturbed the perihelion distance closer to the Sun. During the 2009 apparition the comet became as bright as apparent magnitude 8.[2][6]
The comet came to perihelion on 18 March 2026.[2] It will next come to perihelion on 8 September 2031 and on 14 September 2031 it will pass 0.074 AU (11.1 million km; 6.9 million mi) from Mars.[4] Between 2000–2050 the closest the comet will come to Earth is 0.76 AU (114 million km; 71 million mi) in June 2042.
In response to New Frontiers program call for Mission 4, a team from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) submitted a mission concept proposal called Comet Rendezvous, Sample Acquisition, Investigation, and Return (CORSAIR) that would perform a sample return from comet 88P/Howell.[7][8]
During the 2020 apparition the comet reached about magnitude 9.[2]
During the 2026 apparition 88P/Howell reached about magnitude 10.[6][2] It crossed the Celestial equator on 19 May 2026 becoming more visible from the Northern hemisphere at magnitude 11.
On 14 September 2031 it will pass 11 million km from Mars[4] (which is notably closer than 3I/ATLAS passed to Mars).
References
[edit]- ^ a b "88P/Howell Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b c d e Seiichi Yoshida. "88P/Howell". Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 88P/Howell on 2031-Sep-08" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-03-28. (Soln.date: 2025-Dec-03)
- ^ a b c d "JPL Close-Approach Data: 88P/Howell" (last observation: 2026-03-10). Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ Kronk, Gary W. "88P/Howell". Cometography. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b "88P/Howell plot at Comet Observation database (COBS)". Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ^ CORSAIR (COmet Rendezvous, Sample Acquisition, Investigation, and Return): A New Frontiers Mission Concept to Collect Samples from a Comet and Return them to Earth for Study (PDF). S. A. Sandford, N. L. Chabot, N. Dello Russo, J. C. Leary, E. L. Reynolds, H. A. Weaver, D. H. Wooden. 80th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society 2017 (LPI Contrib. No. 1987).
- ^ "Proposed New Frontiers Missions". Future Planetary Exploration. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
External links
[edit]- 88P/Howell at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 88P at Kronk's Cometography
- 88P/Howell at Gideon van Buitenen's website
- 88P at COBS
- 88P/Howell on 2026 Apr 29 at apmag 10.0
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