19P/Borrelly

Category:Comets\nComet Borrelly (formally designated 19P/Borrelly) is a periodic comet, which was visited by the space craft Deep Space 1.

Table of contents

1 Comet parameters 2 Discovery 3 Deep Space 1 flyby

Comet parameters

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Diameter:	8 by 4 km
Orbital period:	6.8 years
Orbital eccentricity:	0.624
Orbital inclination:	30.3 degrees
Discovered:	1904

Discovery

\nThe comet was discovered by Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borrelly during a routine search for comets at Marseilles, France on December 28, 1904.

Deep Space 1 flyby

\nOn September 21, 2001 the spacecraft Deep Space 1, which was launched to test new equipment in space, performed a fly-by of the comet. It was steered towards the comet during the extended mission of the craft, and presented an unexpected bonus for the mission scientists. Despite the failure of a system that helped determine its orientation, Deep Space 1 sent back to Earth the best images and other science data from a comet, at the time.