96P/Machholz

Author(s): John van Vliet

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96P/Machholz is a periodic sungrazing comet about 6.4 km in diameter, which completes one orbit around the Sun every 5.29 years. Its unusual composition compared to other comets led some scientists to theorize it was a former interstellar object captured by the Sun. It is the third comet discovered by astronomer Donald Machholz when it was first spotted in 1986

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