113P/Spitaler

113P/Spitaler

Discovery
Discovered by	Rudolf Ferdinand Spitaler
Discovery date	November 17, 1890
Designations
Alternative designations	1890 VII, 1890 W1, 1993 U2
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	February 20, 2001
Perihelion	2.127 AU
Semi-major axis	3.69 AU
Eccentricity	0.423
Orbital period	7.09 a
Inclination	5.775°
Last perihelion	June 1, 2022[1] April 23, 2015 March 23, 2008
Next perihelion	2029-Jul-11[2]

Comet Spitaler is a periodic comet in the Solar System discovered by Rudolf Ferdinand Spitaler (Vienna, Austria) on November 17, 1890, while attempting to observe Comet Zona (C/1890 V1).

Spitaler, together with G. M. Searle, J. F. Tennant, and J. R. Hind, calculated orbits based on the observations, but despite predictions of a return in 1897, it was lost and remained so for the next few decades.

On October 24, 1993, the comet was rediscovered by J. V. Scotti (Spacewatch, Kitt Peak Observatory, Arizona, United States), it was confirmed as Spitaler's comet when Brian G. Marsden connected the 1890 and 1994 apparitions.

References

1. "113P/Spitaler Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
2. "Horizons Batch for 113P/Spitaler on 2029-Jul-11" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2022-06-21. (JPL#51 Soln.date: 2022-Feb-22)

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• 113P at Kronk's Cometography
• 113P at Kazuo Kinoshita's Comets
• 113P at Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog

Numbered comets
Previous 112P/Urata–Niijima	113P/Spitaler	Next 114P/Wiseman–Skiff