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Millions of celestial objects dominate the outer solar plane, in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune. These objects are made up of ice, dust, gas and water. Their internal clash throws some of them into our inner solar plane. Astronomical science refers to them as comets. Inside the solar plane, these comets appear bright. However, some of them appear faint and diffused. One such diffused comet is Ciffreo. It is the 108th comet whose orbital period could be determined. Ciffreo is a short–period comet of the Jupiter family. Let us learn about this comet in detail.

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Who discovered Comet 108P/ Ciffreo?

Comet 108P/ Ciffreo was discovered by a lady astronomer named Jacqueline Ciffreo (Caussols) on 8^th November, 1985. This comet was observed on plates exposed with Schmidt of 0.9 m lens. One more image was obtained on 8^th November. The discovery of the comet was confirmed by Koishikawa of Sendai Observatory, Ayashi Station on 8^th November. The comet was located at the edge of a plate obtained by using a 300 mm lens. As it was discovered by Jacqueline Ciffreo, the comet is named after Ciffreo.

What were the observations made about this comet?

Observations about comet 108P/ Ciffreo include:

This comet was observed to have a parabolic orbit in its first 2 days of observation.
Perihelion date was indicated around October 8^th, 1985.
Its orbital inclination was noted at about 20°.
Later observations noted an elliptical orbit.
The coma was observed at 2.5 arc minutes and its tail was 2 arc minutes long.
The comet appeared diffused and faint.

What was the magnitude noted?

On its discovery, the magnitude of comet 108P/ Ciffreo was noted at 12. However, further observations on its recovery on 24^th September, 1992 revealed a magnitude of 18.0. Images on 26^th February, 1993 revealed a magnitude of 16.5. On 1^st January, 2015, its last observation revealed a magnitude of about 16.8.

What is its perihelion distance?

The perihelion distance of comet 108P/ Ciffreo was calculated at 2.05 AU. An elliptical orbit revealed the perihelion distance at 1.72 AU on 28^th October, 1985. Last perihelion was noted at 1.709 AU on the last apparition on 18^th October, 2014.

What was the orbital period noted?

The perihelion date of 28^th October indicated an orbital period of about 7.81 years for comet 108P/Ciffreo. However, the later revisions indicated a perihelion date of 30^th October and the orbital period was calculated at 7.22 years–7.24 years on 18^th October, 2014.

Did the comet reappear or was it recovered?

Comet 108P/ Ciffreo was recovered on 24^th September, 1992 by J.V. Scottie (Lunar and Planetary Observatory, State of Arizona, USA). It was again recovered on 10^th November, 1999 by astronomers at the Mount John Observatory in New Zealand.

Is it expected to reappear?

The next perihelion is expected around the year 2021. Last perihelion of comet 108P/ Ciffreo was on 18^th October, 2014.

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