34D/Gale
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Walter Frederick Gale |
| Discovery date | June 7, 1927 |
| Designations | |
| 1927 L1, 1938 L1 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | July 1, 1938 |
| Observation arc | Not observed in 87 years |
| Number of observations | 47 |
| Aphelion | 8.7 AU[1] |
| Perihelion | 1.18 AU[2] |
| Semi-major axis | 4.94 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.76[1] |
| Orbital period | 10.99 a |
| Inclination | 11.72 ° |
| Next perihelion | 25 August 2026?[3] (Horizons) 18 November 2026?[4] (Kinoshita) |
Comet Gale is a periodic comet in the Solar System discovered by Walter Frederick Gale (Sydney, Australia) on June 7, 1927. It has not been observed in 87 years.
The second apparition was calculated for 1938, but Gale failed to find it; however, it was recalculated by Leland E. Cunningham who later recovered it for that year.
The 1949 apparition was never detected, and due to unfavourable conditions ever since it has never been recovered and it remains a lost comet.
For the 2026 perihelion passage, estimates vary by a difference of 85 days (from 25 August 2026[3] to 18 November 2026[4]).
References
- ^ a b Ley, Willy (September 1968). "Mission to a Comet". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 101–110.
- ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 34D/Gale". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 1938. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ a b "Horizons Batch for 34D/Gale on 2026-Aug-25" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ^ a b K. Kinoshita (2003-06-20). "34D/Gale past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
External links
- 34D/Gale at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 34D/Gale at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography
- 34D/Gale at Kazuo Kinoshita's website
- 34D/Gale at Seiichi Yoshida's website
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