Tempel–Tuttle
The parent comet of the Leonid meteor shower, whose 33-year returns produce the periodic Leonid storms.
Imagery
Órbitas da Terra e do cometa Tempel-Tuttle fr
Schéma présentant le croisement entre l'orbite de la Terre et celle de la comète Tempel-Tuttle.
Violette66 · CC BY-SA
Orbit & physical parameters
Osculating orbit and physical parameters from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database · Halley-type Comet* · near-Earth · epoch 1998-08-15 (JD 2451040.5 TDB) · Earth MOID 0.00848081 au
| Semi-major axis | 10.338338 ± 5.1724e-7 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Eccentricity | 0.905553 ± 6.8031e-8 | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Perihelion distance | 0.976428 ± 7.3483e-7 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Aphelion distance | 19.700249 ± 9.8563e-7 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Inclination | 162.486575 ± 1.9316e-5 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Longitude of ascending node | 235.270989 ± 0.0001 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Argument of perihelion | 172.500274 ± 0.000146 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Orbital period | 12,142 ± 0.000911 d | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Diameter | 3.6 km | NASA JPL · catalogued |
| Geometric albedo | 0.06 ± 0.015 | NASA JPL · estimated |
Full field-level provenance
- Semi-major axis: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · a · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Eccentricity: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · e · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Perihelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · q · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Aphelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · ad · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Inclination: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · i · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Longitude of ascending node: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · om · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Argument of perihelion: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · w · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Orbital period: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · per · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Diameter: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · phys_par · phys.diameter · catalogued value · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Geometric albedo: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · phys_par · phys.albedo · Bayesian estimate · JPL solution by M.S.W. Keesey, 392 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
Orbital elements are a calculated JPL orbit-determination fit, all referred to the single osculating epoch above (solution by M.S.W. Keesey); each carries its own uncertainty. Fields the database did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Classification & origin
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupHalley-Type Comets
- Source reservoirOort Cloud
- Source of meteor showerLeonids
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.