Comets for Celestia

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EarthMoon
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Comets for Celestia

Post #1by EarthMoon » 10.10.2023, 05:34

As there is an Asteroids for Celestia topic, I thought it would be a good idea to create one for (real, not fictional) comets too ...

So, feel free to post your addons about comets, fragments, moons of them (or links to other threads that contain comets) below ...

Add-on by me: All comets of 2023: https://celestiaproject.space/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=24376
Crew: "We are orbiting a black hole."
Control Center: "Do not fly too close to the black hole!"
Crew: "OH OOPS..."

Celestia versions:
1.6.3, 1.7.0 sRGB, 1.6.1 ED (plain)

Current projects:
Celestial (a Celestia-like program written in Python)

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DaveBowman2001
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Post #2by DaveBowman2001 » 10.10.2023, 15:01

"Open the pod-bay doors HAL"
"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"

Spacecrafts Addon Developer since 2018
Celestia Versions: 1.7.8 (Mobile), 1.6.4 and 1.7.0 (Windows)

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EarthMoon
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4 comets called "Gehrels"

Post #3by EarthMoon » 13.10.2023, 08:27

This addon adds 4 comets called "Gehrels" (270P/Gehrels, 90P/Gehrels 1, 78P/Gehrels 2 and 82P/Gehrels 3) to Celestia. Three of them (not 90P) had/have many flybys at the gas planets, and 78P was in a 2:1 resonance with Ceres (Ceres finishes 2 orbits while the comet finishes only 1) 4 times (many orbits each), separated by Jupiter flybys (they didn't ruin the 2:1 resonance with Ceres). 90P has a (much) stable orbit around the sun which doesn't change that much because it didn't/doesn't fly by Jupiter or Saturn closely.
All four comets have .xyzv trajectories for high precision which start at 1600 Jan 01 and end at 2500 Jan 01.

Note: The P designations (e.g. 1P, 2P, etc.) are in a different order than the comet numbers (Gehrels (1/2/3)) for some reason which caused little confusions but everything is fine now.

Flyby data (also available in flybys.txt inside the .zip):

Code: Select all

Fly-bys on planets:

   Year   Object   Distance
270p
   1843   Saturn   Far
   1895   Jupiter   Medium
   1987   Saturn   Medium
   2046   Jupiter   Medium
   2072   Saturn   Medium
   2131   Saturn   Far
   2250   Saturn   Far
   2343   Jupiter   Medium
   2390   Jupiter   Medium
90p
   [None]
78p
   1675   Jupiter   Medium
   ....   Ceres   Far
   1723   Jupiter   Medium
   ....   Ceres   Far
   1805   Jupiter   Medium
   ....   Ceres   Far
   1853   Jupiter   Medium
   ....   Ceres   Far
   1889   Jupiter   Medium
   1911   Jupiter   Medium
   1914   Ceres   Far
   1957   Ceres   Medium
   1971   Jupiter   Medium
   1994   Jupiter   Medium
   2011   Ceres   Far
   2026   Ceres   Far
   2029   Jupiter   Close
   2046   Jupiter   Close
   2123   Jupiter   Medium
   2129   Jupiter   Close
   2236   Jupiter   Medium
   2239   Saturn   Medium-Far
   2265   Neptune   Medium
   2311   Saturn   Close-Medium
   2427   Neptune   Medium
   2484   Jupiter   Medium
82p
   1600   Saturn   Medium
   1622   Jupiter   Far
   1637   Saturn   Far
   1669   Saturn   Medium
   1730   Jupiter   Medium
   1785   Jupiter   Medium
   1834   Jupiter   Medium
   1901   Saturn   Far
   1970   Jupiter   Close (Orbit Start)
   1973   Jupiter   Close (Orbit End)
   2000   Jupiter   Medium
   2057   Jupiter   Close (Orbit Start)
   2063   Jupiter   Close (Orbit End)
   2122   Jupiter   Medium
   2147   Jupiter   Close (Orbit Start)
   2151   Jupiter   Close (Orbit)
   2153   Jupiter   Close (Orbit End)
   2194   Jupiter   Medium
   2235   Jupiter   Medium
   2239   Jupiter   Close (Orbit Start)
   2243   Jupiter   Medium (Orbit End)
   2298   Saturn   Far
   2358   Saturn   Medium
   2446   Saturn   Medium
   2493   Jupiter   Close


.... = between the before and following year
Orbit Start = captured into orbit around that object
Orbit = during orbit around that object
Orbit End = left orbit around that object
Attachments
GehrelsComets.zip
(35.35 MiB) Downloaded 241 times
Crew: "We are orbiting a black hole."
Control Center: "Do not fly too close to the black hole!"
Crew: "OH OOPS..."

Celestia versions:
1.6.3, 1.7.0 sRGB, 1.6.1 ED (plain)

Current projects:
Celestial (a Celestia-like program written in Python)

SpaceExplorer
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With us: 3 years
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81P/Wild

Post #4by SpaceExplorer » 22.10.2023, 16:01

This addon adds a full xyzv trajectory (1600-2500) for comet 81P/Wild (2)
Originally this comet orbited the Sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune, until a close encounter with Jupiter in September 1974 brought it into the inner Solar System. On January 2, 2004, NASA's Stardust spacecraft collected samples from Wild 2's coma, which were returned to Earth in January 2006. The comet will remain in its current orbit until 2058, when it will pass close to Jupiter again.

xyzv trajectory made by me with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The comet's model, texture and physical/rotational parameters are from Celestia Origin.
Attachments
81P Wild 2.zip
download
(24.09 MiB) Downloaded 237 times
20231022_122840.jpg
20231022_122756.jpg
Orbit before encounter with Jupiter in 1974
20231022_122807.jpg
Orbit and current position (as of 2023-Oct-22)

SpaceExplorer
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Post #5by SpaceExplorer » 29.10.2023, 15:00

A small correction in the Wild 2 ssc file, the "BlendTexture true" parameter was added, so that the specified color of the comet is filed with the texture. If you already have the addon installed, simply replace the ssc file with fixed. Remember to delete the old ssc so you don't create duplicates.
Attachments
81P Wild (fixed ssc).zip
(494 Bytes) Downloaded 177 times

SpaceExplorer
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67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Post #6by SpaceExplorer » 07.11.2023, 00:44

This addon adds a full xyzv trajectory (1600-2500) for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

For many centuries, 67P remained on a orbit whose perihelion was beyond the orbit of Mars, until an encounter with Jupiter in 1959 defined its perihelion between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Has made a series of close approaches to Jupiter over the centuries and will continue to do so.
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was the target of ESA's Rosetta mission, which orbited the comet between August 2014 and September 2016. And on November 12, 2014, Philae became the first lander to land on a cometary nucleus.

xyzv trajectory made with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The comet's model, texture and physical/rotational parameters are from Celestia Origin.
Attachments
67P Churyumov–Gerasimenko.zip
download
(24.94 MiB) Downloaded 183 times
20231106_191653.jpg
(Rosetta addon by toutatis)
20231106_210359.jpg
Last perihelion (2021-Nov-02)

SpaceExplorer
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19P/Borrelly

Post #7by SpaceExplorer » 28.11.2023, 09:49

This addon adds a full xyzv trajectory (1600-2500) for comet 19P/Borrelly

There is nothing particularly incredible about Borrelly's orbit, as most distant encounters with Jupiter only slightly change its orbital inclination, with few perihelion/aphelion changes.
In September 2001, the Deep Space 1 mission made a flyby of this comet, being the second cometary nucleus being photographed by a spacecraft, after Giotto's flyby of Halley in 1986.

xyzv trajectory made with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The comet's model, texture and physical/rotational parameters are from Celestia Origin.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Since Borrelly already exists in the default Celestia, the addon's ssc includes the "Replace" parameter.
Attachments
19P Borrelly.zip
download
(19.7 MiB) Downloaded 160 times
20231127_220324.jpg
20231127_220401.jpg
Full trajectory (1600-2500)

SpaceExplorer
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Post #8by SpaceExplorer » 11.12.2023, 14:16

.....
Last edited by SpaceExplorer on 01.10.2024, 20:37, edited 1 time in total.

SpaceExplorer
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9P/Tempel

Post #9by SpaceExplorer » 12.01.2024, 13:43

This addon adds a full xyzv trajectory (1600-2500) for comet 9P Tempel (1)
We already know that Jupiter family comets make many encounters with Jupiter itself, and Tempel 1 is no exception. On 2024-May-26, it will pass within 0.55 AU of Jupiter.
In 2011-Nov-10, it passed 6.03 million km from Ceres and in 2183-Oct-17 it will pass 2.86 million km from Mars.

Tempel 1 was the target of NASA's Deep Impact mission, which aimed to create a crater on the comet to study its interior composition. On 2005-Jul-4, the impactor collided with the comet and the flyby spacecraft photographed the plume, but was unable to see the crater.
After returning samples from Wild 2's coma, the Stardust spacecraft was redirected to Tempel 1 to photograph the crater left during the Deep Impact mission.

xyzv trajectory made with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The model and physical/rotational parameters are from Celestia Origin. The comet's texture is from Shadow-Dragon-777.
Attachments
9P Tempel 1.zip
download
(20.24 MiB) Downloaded 160 times
20240112_094316.jpg
Seconds before impact (Deep Impact addon by FarGetaNik)
20240112_094341.jpg
Full trajectory (1600-2500)

SpaceExplorer
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103P/Hartley

Post #10by SpaceExplorer » 05.03.2024, 19:50

This addon adds a full xyzv trajectory (1600-2500) for comet 103P/Hartley (2). Is a Jupiter-family comet that measures about 1.6 km in diameter.

Interesting approximations:

- 1947-Aug-26, 0.184 AU from Jupiter;
- 1971-Apr-28, 0.085 AU from Jupiter;
- 2010-Oct-20, 0.12 AU from Earth.

Hartley 2 was the target of the EPOXI mission (Deep Impact extension), with a flyby on 2010-Nov-04 at a distance of around 700 km from the nucleus.

xyzv trajectory made with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The comet's model, texture and physical/rotational parameters are from Celestia Origin.
Attachments
103P Hartley 2.zip
download
(19.71 MiB) Downloaded 108 times
20240305_163749.jpg
A peanut shaped and extremely dark nucleus (albedo 0.028)
20240305_163857.jpg
Current position (green circle, in 2024-Mar-05)

SpaceExplorer
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12P/Pons-Brooks

Post #11by SpaceExplorer » 12.03.2024, 01:34

12P/Pons-Brooks is a periodic Halley-type comet, with an orbital period of approximately 71 years.
Pons-Brooks will reach perihelion in 2024-Apr-21, with closest approach to Earth (1.55 AU) in 2024-Jun-02. Given that the comet has already been observed by several amateur astronomers, I felt the need to release this early (previously it would have been released in a single addon containing the periodic comets 10P to 18D). If you want to try to find and observe 12P/Pons-Brooks, now try using Celestia as a night map!

xyzv trajectory made with data extracted from JPL HORIZONS. The model and texture (generic, obviously) are from Celestia Origin.
Attachments
12P Pons-Brooks.zip
download
(9.78 MiB) Downloaded 162 times
20240311_221104.jpg
20240311_221120.jpg
Closest approach to Earth (2024-Jun-02)

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Post #12by SpaceExplorer » 03.05.2024, 14:30

.....
Last edited by SpaceExplorer on 01.10.2024, 20:34, edited 3 times in total.

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Post #13by SpaceExplorer » 07.06.2024, 16:56

.....
Last edited by SpaceExplorer on 01.10.2024, 20:35, edited 2 times in total.

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Post #14by SpaceExplorer » 25.06.2024, 18:11

.....

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C/2024 L5 (ATLAS)

Post #15by SpaceExplorer » 01.10.2024, 21:14

C/2024 L5 (ATLAS) is a comet discovered on 2024-Jun-14 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). What makes this comet stand out is a close encounter with Saturn on 2022-Jan-24, which placed it on a escape trajectory (hiperbolic) from Solar System. Before this encounter, its orbit around the Sun was retrograde and similar to that of a centaur.

Some details of the trajectory of C/2024 L5:
- Closest approach to Saturn on 2022-Jan-24 02:50:00 UTC), 340,340 km.
- Reaches perihelion in 2025-Mar-10, 3.4322 AU;
- Closest approach to Jupiter in 2026-Aug-18, 0.59517 AU;
Attachments
C 2024 L5 (ATLAS).zip
download
(5.13 MiB) Downloaded 52 times
20241001_180847.jpg
20241001_180825.jpg
Close encounter with Saturn in 2022 put the comet on a hyperbolic trajectory

SpaceExplorer
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C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)

Post #16by SpaceExplorer » 02.10.2024, 23:39

C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) was a sungrazer and probable Kreutz comet discovered on 2024-Sep-27. It was predicted to reach perihelion in 2024-Oct-28, and if it survived the Sun's intense heat, it could potentially become visible to the naked eye during the day, with magnitude estimated to be between -5 and -7. However, just before reaching perihelion, the comet's nucleus completely disintegrated, as observed by SOHO LASCO.

NOTE: To see the comet, you need to set the time in Celestia to sometime before 2024-Oct-28 07:00 UTC
Attachments
C-2024 S1 (ATLAS).zip
download
(827.88 KiB) Downloaded 23 times
20241031_140519.jpg
Last edited by SpaceExplorer on 31.10.2024, 17:14, edited 2 times in total.

SpaceExplorer
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Post #17by SpaceExplorer » 31.10.2024, 17:12

An update for C/2024 S1 was posted to the original post above. The comet disintegrated just before perihelion. Furthermore, he was not hyperbolic (until then, the data were preliminary and the observation arc very short).


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