Comet Humason, formally designated C/1961 R1 (a.k.a. 1962 VIII and 1961e), was a non-periodic comet discovered by Milton L. Humason on 1 September 1961. Its perihelion was well beyond the orbit of Mars, at 2.133 AU. The outbound orbital period is about 2,516 years.
Physical properties It was a "giant" comet, much more active than a normal comet for its distance to the Sun, with an absolute magnitude of 1.35−3.5, and a nucleus diameter estimated at 30–40 km (19–25 mi). It could have been up to a hundred times brighter than an average new comet. It had an unusually disrupted or "turbulent" appearance. It was also unusual in that the spectrum of its tail showed a strong predominance of the ion CO+, a result previously seen unambiguously only in C/1908 R1 (Morehouse).
See also C/1729 P1 (Sarabat) C/1995 O1 (Hale–Bopp) C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli–Bernstein)
References
External links
C/1961 R1 at the JPL Small-Body Database