9P/Tempel 1

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Jupiter-family Comet
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (6.00 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

9P/Tempel 1 is a mid-sized comet whose orbit features a relatively short period, low inclination, and is controlled by Jupiter's gravitational effects. NASA JPL has not classified 9P/Tempel 1 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

9P/Tempel 1 orbits the sun every 2,040 days (5.59 years), coming as close as 1.54 AU and reaching as far as 4.75 AU from the sun. 9P/Tempel 1 is about 6.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 9P/Tempel 1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 40.70 hours.

No Close Approaches

9P/Tempel 1's orbit is 0.53 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

9P/Tempel 1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 25, 2008. It was last officially observed on Jan. 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,196 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This comet is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 9P/Tempel 1:

• 10 Hygiea (A849 GA)
• 24 Themis (A853 GA)
• 57 Mnemosyne (A859 SA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 9P/Tempel 1 is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 9P/Tempel 1 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.