19P/Borrelly is a periodic comet found by the French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly from the observatory in Marseille. It orbits the Sun roughly once every seven years and is a Jupiter-family comet, meaning that Jupiter's gravity strongly shapes its path. In 2001 NASA's Deep Space 1 probe flew past it and returned the closest images of a comet nucleus taken up to that time. They showed an elongated, irregular body with dark, rugged surfaces and jets of gas and dust escaping from the sunlit side. The mission was valuable because it was in effect a test of new technologies, including an ion engine, and it still produced useful science.
Before and after
- 15 July 1904Death of Anton Chekhov
- 22 August 1904Birth of Deng Xiaoping
- 2 October 1904Birth of Graham Greene
- 3 December 1904Discovery of Himalia
- 28 December 1904Discovery of 19P/Borrelly
- 1905October Manifesto
- 1905Construction of Times Square
- 1905Special relativity
- 1905Establishment of Kaziranga National Park
More in Universe & space
- 11 January 1787Discovery of Titania
- 11 January 1787Discovery of Oberon
- 17 September 1789Discovery of Mimas
- 24 October 1851Discovery of Umbriel
- 24 October 1851Discovery of Ariel
- 9 September 1892Discovery of Amalthea
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.