Discovered by John Caister Bennett Alternativedesignations Comet Bennett, 1969 Y1 Eccentricity 0.9962 Orbital period 1,679 years Last perihelion 20 March 1970 Discoverer John Caister Bennett | Discovery date 1969 Aphelion 282 AU Predicted next perihelion 3600 Discovered 28 December 1969 Semimajor axis 141 m | |
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Epoch 2440680.5 (April 4, 1970) Similar Comet Arend–Roland, Comet Humason, C/1948 V1, Comet West, Great Southern Comet of | ||
Comet Bennett, formally known as C/1969 Y1 (old style 1970 II and 1969i), was one of two brilliant comets to grace the 1970s, along with Comet West. The name is also borne by an altogether different comet, C/1974 V2.
Discovered by John Caister Bennett on December 28, 1969 while still almost two AUs from the Sun, it reached perihelion on March 20, passing closest to Earth on March 26, 1970 as it receded, peaking at magnitude 0. It was last observed on February 27, 1971.
Comet Bennett was scheduled to be photographed by Apollo 13 on April 14, 1970 after the crew finished their television broadcast. Shortly after completing the manoeuvre to orient the spacecraft for the photo the famous malfunction of the spacecraft prevented the photo from being taken.
