P/2021 U3 (Attard–Maury) is a Jupiter-family comet discovered on 24 October 2021 by Georges Attard and Alain Maury. The comet had a magnitude of 19 at the time of its discovery. It is the second comet discovered using the synthetic tracking technique, using the Tycho software, as part of the MAP Observation Program.
Discovery The comet was discovered on 24 October 2021 by Georges Attard, an amateur astronomer from Mougins, and Alain Maury, a former astronomer at the CERGA and the Palomar Observatory, now director of the astronomical resources center Space in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Method and Observation Program
To detect near-Earth objects, Alain Maury, Georges Attard, and Daniel Parrott designed the MAP project. This project is based on a method, observation telescopes, processing software, and of course, diligent observers.
Characteristics The orbital period is 8.58 years. The aphelion is 6.56 AU, close to the orbit of Jupiter.
See also C/2021 J1 (Maury–Attard)
References
Citations
Bibliography Ernesto Guido (2 November 2021). "New Comet P/2021 U3 (Attard-Maury)". Blog of Italian amateur astronomer Ernesto Guido. Guido-02112021..
External links Official site of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) "MPEC 2021-V21: COMET P/2021 U3 (Attard-Maury)". MPC. 2 November 2021. MPC-Circular. "P/2021 U3 (Attard-Maury)". MPC. MPC-Database. P/2021 U3 at the JPL Small-Body Database Alain Maury (28 April 2021). "MAP history and description". Alain Maury's Blog. BlogMaury-MAP.