C/1915 C1 (Mellish) Explained

C/1915 C1 (Mellish)
Discoverer:John E. Mellish
Discovery Date:10 February 1915
Designations:1915a
1915 II
Epoch:30 June 1915 (JD 2420678.5)
Observation Arc:376 days (1.03 years)
Obs:94
Perihelion:1.0053 AU
Semimajor:–3,663.395 AU
Eccentricity:1.00027
Inclination:54.792°
Asc Node:73.453°
Arg Peri:247.782°
Earth Moid:0.3339 AU
Jupiter Moid:0.9970 AU
M1:7.7
Last P:17 July 1915

C/1915 C1 is one of five comets discovered by American astronomer John E. Mellish. It is a hyperbolic comet that reached perihelion on July 17, 1915. However, just two months earlier, Edward E. Barnard had reported the comet had splitted into three distinct objects in May 12, later increasing to four by May 24. In addition, it is thought that this comet was the parent body of the June Lyrids meteor shower, which was first discovered in 1966.

See also