479P/Elenin
Jupiter-family comet discovered by Leonid Elenin in 2011.
479P/Elenin, originally labeled P/2011 NO1, belongs to the Jupiter-family group of comets and takes about 13.3 years to orbit the Sun. Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin found it, making it the second of five comets he has discovered.
The comet was spotted on 7 July 2011, when it lay 2.38 AU from the Sun and 1.4 AU from Earth, shining at magnitude 19.5. It had already passed its closest point to the Sun—perihelion—around 20 January 2011, at a distance of 1.2 AU (180 million km). On 22 July 2011, it reached opposition, sitting 178.6° from the Sun in the constellation Sagittarius.
On 29 January 2013, the Minor Planet Center gave Leonid Elenin the 2012 Edgar Wilson Award for amateur comet discoveries. Maik Meyer suggested that asteroid 2023 WM26, found by PanSTARRS on 18 November 2023, was actually the return of P/2011 NO1. Shuichi Nakano and Daniel Green later confirmed this link. The 2024 return offered the best viewing in decades: the comet came within 0.62 AU (93 million km) of Earth on 4 May 2024, just a day before its next perihelion. It looked gassy and diffuse, brightening to magnitude 10 or 11.
The comet’s nucleus is thought to have a radius smaller than 1.0 km (0.62 mi).
Quick Facts
- Discovery Ref
- MPEC2011-O09
- Discoverer
- Leonid Elenin
- Discovery Site
- ISON–NM (H15) / 0.45-m reflector
- Discovery Date
- 7 July 2011
- Mpc Name
- P/2011 NO · 1 P/2023 WM · 26
- Orbit Ref
- jpldata · MPC
- Epoch
- 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
- Observation Arc
- 13.148 years
- Earliest Precovery Date
- 12 June 2011
- Obs
- 1,013
- Perihelion
- 1.243 AU
- Aphelion
- 10.002 AU
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The comet was discovered on 7 July 2011 when it was 2.38 AU from the Sun and 1.4 AU from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 19.5. It had come to perihelion around 20 January 2011 at 1.2 AU from the Sun. It came to opposition 178.6° from the Sun on 22 July 2011 in the constellation Sagittarius.
On 29 January 2013, the Minor Planet Center awarded Leonid Elenin a 2012 Edgar Wilson Award for the discovery of comets by amateurs. Maik Meyer proposed that asteroid 2023 WM26, discovered by PanSTARRS on 18 November 2023, is the return of P/2011 NO1; the link was later confirmed by Shuichi Nakano and Daniel Green. The 2024 apparition was the most favorable in decades, with the comet approaching 0.62 AU to Earth on 4 May 2024, one day before perihelion. The comet appeared gasy and diffuse and brightened to an apparent magnitude of 10 to 11.
The radius of the nucleus is estimated to be less than 1.0 km.
Reader's Guide
479P/Elenin is notable as the second of five comets discovered by Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin, who received the 2012 Edgar Wilson Award from the Minor Planet Center for amateur comet discoveries. The comet's 2024 apparition was the most favorable in decades, approaching Earth to 0.62 AU on 4 May 2024, one day before perihelion, and brightening to magnitude 10–11. Its return was identified when Maik Meyer proposed that asteroid 2023 WM26 was the same object, a link later confirmed by Shuichi Nakano and Daniel Green. The comet's nucleus radius is less than 1.0 km, and its orbital period is 13.3 years, classifying it as a Jupiter-family comet. The discovery and recovery highlight the role of amateur astronomers and collaborative confirmation in tracking periodic comets.
Did You Know?
- The comet was discovered on 7 July 2011 at an apparent magnitude of 19.5.
- Its return was confirmed by linking it to asteroid 2023 WM26.
More in Periodic Comets 1-24
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