56P/Slaughter–Burnham is a periodic comet in the Solar System with a period of 11.54 years. It is the second of two comets co-discovered by Robert Burnham Jr. and Charles D. Slaughter.
Observational history It was discovered in 1959 by Charles D. Slaughter and Robert Burnham of the Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona during a photographic survey. They spotted the comet, with a faint brightness of magnitude 16, on a plate exposed on 10 December 1958. By monitoring its movement over a series of consecutive days, Elizabeth Roemer was able to calculate its orbit, suggesting a perihelion date of 4 August 1958 and an orbital period of 11.18 years. It was subsequently observed in 1970, 1981, 1993, 2005 and 2016. Its next perihelion will be on December 19, 2027.
Physical characteristics The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 1.55 kilometers based on observations by Keck.
References
Further reading No. 146 The Orbit of Comet Burnham-Slaught 1958e-1959I by G. Van Biesbroeck
External links 56P/Slaughter–Burnham at the JPL Small-Body Database 56P/Slaughter-Burnham – Seiichi Yoshida @ aerith.net