157P/Tritton
157P/Tritton is a periodic comet with a 6-year orbital period. Fragment B was first observed on 21 August 2022.
Observational history
Keith Tritton discovered this comet on a deep IIIa-J exposure made with the 122-cm Schmidt telescope on 1978 February 11.66.The comet was not detected during the predicted returns of 1984, 1990 or 1996 and was presumed lost. However, on 2003 October 6.44, using CCD images obtained with a 0.12-m refractor, C. W. Juels and P. Holvorcem detected a comet that proved to be on a similar orbit to the lost comet. B. G. Marsden was able to calculate a new orbit, published in IAU Circular No. 8215, issued 2003 October 7, which confirmed that it was indeed identical to comet Tritton.
The comet was also recovered at its 2010, 2016, and 2022 apparitions. On 2 October 2022 the discovery of a new fragment of the comet was published in MPEC 2022-T23. With a smaller orbit, fragment B should come to perihelion in 2028 March and the primary fragment should come to perihelion in 2029 May.
| Component | Period | Perihelion | Aphelion | Semi-major axis | Eccentricity | Inclination | Next Perihelion |
| 157P | 6.68 | 1.572 | 5.519 | 3.545 | 0.5566 | 12.42° | 2029-May-18 |
| 157P-B | 5.49 | 1.552 | 4.671 | 3.111 | 0.5012 | 12.43° | 2028-Mar-07 |