Comet Giacobini-Zinner Facts
By : John Whitworth / Updated : Jul 16th, 2026 23:49
Contents
Comet Giacobini-Zinner is a comet, a celestial body that is composed of ice and rock that when it gets closer to the sun begins to burn away and produce a long tail. It is composed mainly of ice and dust. As the orbital period is less than 200 years, it is deemed to be a short-term period comet. Debris left behind by Comet Giacobini-Zinner is responsible for the meteors in 2 meteor showers.
Comet Giacobini-Zinner absolute magnitude is 9, which is the object's brightness. A higher absolute magnitude means that the object is faint, whereas a very low number means it is very bright.
The Longitude of Ascending Node of Comet Giacobini-Zinner is 195.3914 degrees. It is the angle between the Reference Direction and the Ascending Node. It is generally represented by the greek letter Ω. The ascending node is the point at which the object passes north. The descending node is the southern equivalent.
The Argument of Perihelion of Comet Giacobini-Zinner is 172.86. It is the angle along the orbit of a planet or other Solar System object as measured from the ascending node (analogous to right ascension and longitude) Ref:Hawaii. The closest the Comet Giacobini-Zinner came to its orbitting target was 2018-09-10 at which point it was 1.012811 A.U. distance away.
Orbital Details
Comet Giacobini-Zinner orbital period, the time it takes to complete an orbit of the Sun, is 6.52 years. The orbital inclination of Comet Giacobini-Zinner, the angle at which Comet Giacobini-Zinner orbits to the orbital plane, is 31.9976 degrees. The orbital eccentricity is 0.710422 of Comet Giacobini-Zinner, the degree at which Comet Giacobini-Zinner orbits close to a circular (0) orbit as opposed to an elliptical (1). The semi-major axis of Comet Giacobini-Zinner orbit is 3.52 (A.U.), the furthest point from the centre to the edge of an elliptical.
Facts and Figures
| Type | Comet |
| Absolute Magnitude | 9 |
| Longitude Of Ascending Node | 195.3914° |
| Argument of Perihelion | 172.86° |
| Perihelion Distance | 1.012811 |
| Orbital Period | 6.52 Yrs |
| Orbital Period Type | Short |
| Orbital Inclination | 31.9976° |
| Orbital Eccentricity | 0.710422 |
| Semi-Major Axis | 3.52 A.U. |
| Source(s) | Minor Planet Center |
