C/1942 EA (Väisälä) is a Halley-type comet with an orbital period of about 86±4 years. It is the third of four comets discovered by Finnish astronomer, Yrjö Väisälä. Given only seven observations in the JPL SBDB solution, the comet's return is expected around 2027–2028. JPL Horizons has the comet remaining more than 1.9 AU (280 million km) from Earth during the 2028 passage.
Observational history A single photographic plate exposed by Väisälä on 11 March 1942 revealed two new star-like objects, later designated as 1942 EA and 1942 EC, within the constellation Leo. Due to the temperamental communications at the time caused by World War II, scientists were at first unable to distinguish the two objects apart, initially preventing orbital calculations to be done.
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References
External links C/1942 EA at the JPL Small-Body Database