Numbered Minor Planets That Are Also Comets
| Name | Cometary name | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 2060 Chiron | 95P/Chiron | Discovered in 1977 as the first centaur, later found to display cometary behavior (including a coma) |
| 4015 Wilson–Harrington | 107P/Wilson–Harrington | In 1992, it was realized that asteroid 1979 VA's orbit matched it with the positions of the lost comet Wilson-Harrington (1949 III) |
| 7968 Elst–Pizarro | 133P/Elst–Pizarro | Discovered in 1996 as a comet, but orbitally matched to asteroid 1979 OW7 |
| 60558 Echeclus | 174P/Echeclus | Second centaur found to have a coma |
| 118401 LINEAR | 176P/LINEAR (LINEAR 52) | Main-belt comet-asteroid discovered to have a coma on November 26, 2005 |
Note there are quite a few other cases where a non-numbered asteroid with only a systematic designation (such as 2001 OG108) turned out to be a comet (in this case C/2001 OG108 (LONEOS)). The above table lists only numbered asteroids that are also comets.
Read more about this topic: List Of Notable Asteroids
Famous quotes containing the words minor, planets and/or comets:
“People are too apt to treat God as if he were a minor royalty.”
—Herbert Beerbohm, Sir Tree (1853–1917)
“Perhaps when distant people on other planets pick up some wave-length of ours all they hear is a continuous scream.”
—Iris Murdoch (b. 1919)
“When beggars die there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)