24P/Schaumasse
Comet Schaumasse is a Jupiter-family comet with an 8.2-year orbit around the Sun. It is the first of three comets discovered by French astronomer, Alexandre Schaumasse.
Observations
By the end of 1912 it was recognised as a short period comet estimated to return in 7.1 years, later recalculated as 8 years. The 1919 return was recovered by Gaston Fayet as magnitude 10.5.The 1927 approach was magnitude 12, but the comet was missed on the 1935 approach. In 1937 it passed close to Jupiter which increased its orbital period slightly. During the 1951-1952 apparition, the comet was brighter than expected, reaching a magnitude of about 6 in February.
The comet was missed in 1968 and 1976. It was speculated that the increase in brightness in 1952 indicated a problem that led to it vanishing. The comet during the 1984 apparition was recovered by James B. Gibson. Also in 1984 was reported that Elizabeth Roemer had found a comet on a photograph from 27 December 1976. Orbital calculations by Brian G. Marsden, confirmed the 1976 image featured Comet Schaumasse.
The comet was not observed during the 2009 unfavorable apparition since the perihelion passage occurred when the comet was on the far side of the Sun. It passed within of the dwarf planet Ceres on 22 March 2010. During the 2017 apparition the comet reached a magnitude of 10.
On 25 October 2025, it passed about 1 degree from Jupiter. It came to perihelion on 8 January 2026 with a solar elongation of 94 degrees and brighten to about magnitude 9.
| Date & time of closest approach | Earth distance | Sun distance | Velocity wrt Earth | Velocity wrt Sun | Uncertainty region | Reference |
| 2026-Jan-04 | 18.9 | 35.8 | ± 100 km |
Around 25 October 2100 it should pass about from Mars.