New comet groups

The discovery and properties of the Meyer, Marsden and Kracht comet groups

Last updated and extended: 15 March 2015

These pages are intended as an information point regarding comet groups. They focus mainly on the new comet groups identified among the comets discovered by the SOHO spacecraft. The Kreutz group, until 2002 the only known comet group for about 100 years, is not covered in detail.

Meyer	Marsden	Kracht	Kracht 2
116	34^a	37^a	4^a

^a: number may be smaller due to short-period comets

Latest News

15 March 2015:Possible Meyer group comet count now at 181.
11 January 2014:Possible Meyer group comet count now at 159.
28 August 2013:Possible Meyer group comet count now at 154, confirmed comet count at 116
03 January 2013:Zhijian Xu discovers possible Meyer group comets no. 143-146
22 September 2012: Zhijian Xu discovers a possible Meyer group comet (no. 139) in C2 images of 2012 August 1, Sergei Schmalz discovers a possible Meyer group comet (no. 140) in C2 images of 2012 August 14, Ritsu Tainaka discovers a possible Meyer group comet (no. 141) in C2 images of 2012 August 31, and Zhijian Xu discovers a possible Meyer group comet (no. 142) in C3 images of 2012 September 18
26 July 2012:Peiyuan Sun detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 138) in C2 images of 2012 July 21
23 April 2012:Sergei Schmalz, Szymon Liwo and Krzysztof Kida detect a possible Meyer group comet (no. 136) in C2 images of 2012 April 5, and Krzysztof Kida detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 137) in C2 images of 2012 April 15
26 March 2012:Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 135) in C3 images of 2012 March 23
18 March 2012:Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 134) in C2 images of 2012 March 15
11 March 2012:Krzysztof Kida detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 133) C3 images of 2012 February 29
11 February 2012:Z. Xu detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 130) in C2 and C3 images of 2012 January 30, Sergei Schmalz detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 131) in C2 images of 2012 February 4, and Szymon Liwo detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 132) in C2 images of 2012 February 11
11 January 2012: Rob Matson detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 129) in C2 images of 2012 January 6
17 December 2011: Sergei Schmalz detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 128) in C2 images of 2011 December 16
28 September 2011: Bo Zhu detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 127) in C2 images of 2011 September 14
18 July 2011: Zhijian Zhu detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 126) in C2 images of 2011 July 16, and Alan Watson detects a possible Marsden group comet in C3 images of 2011 July 17
15 July 2011: Sergei Schmalz detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 125) in C2 images of 2011 July 14
11 July 2011: Masanori Uchina detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 124) in C2 images of 2011 July 11
13 June 2011: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet in C2 images of 2011 June 10
02 June 2011: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 123) in C2 images of 2011 May 30
25 May 2011: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 122) in C2 images of 2011 May 25
21 May 2011: Masanori Uchina detects a possible Marsden group comet in C2 images of 2011 May 19-20
1 May 2011: Zhijian Xu detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 121) in C2 images of 2011 April 30
21 April 2011: Szymon Liwo detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 119) in C2 images of 2011 April 18, and Michal Kusiak detects another possible Meyer group (no. 120) comet in C2 images of 2011 April 19
9 March 2011: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 38) in C3 images of 2011 March 9
28 February 2011: Masanori Uchina detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 118) in C2/C3 images of 2011 February 27
17 February 2011: Rob Matson detects a possible Marsden group comet in C3/C2 images of 2011 February 15-16
16 January 2011: Masanori Uchina detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 117) in C2 images of 2011 January 15
25 November 2010: Rob Matson detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 115) and Masanori Uchina detects another possible Meyer group comet (no. 116) in C2 images of 2010 November 25
15 November 2010: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 114) in C2 images of 2010 November 12
05 November 2010: Masanori Uchina detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 113) in C2 images of 2010 November 05
27 October 2010: Rob Matson detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 37) in C2 images of 2010 October 23
03 October 2010: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 112) in C2 images of 2010 October 04
03 October 2010: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 111) in C2 images of 2010 October 02
20 September 2010: Jiangao Ruan detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 110) in C2 images of 2010 September 19
30 July 2010: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 109) in C2 images of 2010 July 29
22 June 2010: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet in C2 images of 2010 June 20, and Bo Zhou detects another possible Marsden group comet in C2 images of 2010 June 21
09 June 2010: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 108) in C2 images of 2010 June 08
19 April 2010: Jiangao Ruan detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 37) in C2 images of 2010 April 19
15 April 2010: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 107) in C2 images of 2010 April 15
21 March 2010: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 106) in C2 images of 2010 March 21
12 January 2010: Arkadiusz Kubczak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 105) in C2 images of 2010 January 12
01 January 2010: Jiangao Ruan detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 104) in C2 images of 2009 December 31
24 December 2009: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 36) in C2 images of 2009 December 20
18 December 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 103) in C2 images of 2009 December 17
22 October 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 36) in C3/C2 images of 2009 October 22
18 October 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 102) in C2 images of 2009 October 17
15 October 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 35) in C3/C2 images of 2009 October 13/14
28 September 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 101) in C3 images of 2009 September 26/27
10 June 2009: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 35) in C2 images of 2009 June 09, and T. Hoffman detects another possible Kracht group comet (no. 34) in C2 images of 2009 June 06
16 May 2009: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 34) in C2 images of 2009 May 15
08 March 2009: Eryk Banach detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 100) in C2 images of 2009 March 07
26 February 2009: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 99) in C2 images of 2009 February 26
25 February 2009: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 98) in C2 images of 2009 February 24
29 January 2009: Zhijian Xu detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 97) in C2 images of 2009 January 29
23 December 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 33) in C2 images of 2008 December 22
07 December 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 96) and a possible Marsden group comet (no. 31) in C2 images of 2008 December 07
05 November 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 95) in C2 images of 2008 November 04
19 October 2008: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 94) in C2 images of 2008 October 18
03 October 2008: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 93) in C2 images of 2008 October 02
06 September 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 33) in C2 images of 2008 September 06
04 July 2008: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 32) in C2 images of 2008 July 04
16 June 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 92) in C2 images of 2008 June 12
12 June 2008: Michal Kusiak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 91) in C2 images of 2008 June 12
10 June 2008: Rainer Kracht detects two possible Kracht II group comets in C2 images of 2008 June 10
26 May 2008: Jiangao Ruan detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 90) in C2 images of 2008 May 25
08 May 2008: Shihong Yuan detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 89) in C2 images of 2008 May 05/06
07 May 2008: Jiangao Ruan detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 88) in C2 images of 2008 May 05/06
18 April 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 87) in C2 images of 2008 April 18
12 April 2008: Bo Zhou detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 31) in C2 images of 2008 April 12/13
19 March 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 86) in C2 images of 2008 March 19
05 March 2008: Hua Su detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 30) in C2 images of 2008 March 04, and a possible Marsden group comet (no. 31) in C3 images of March 05
19 February 2008: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 85) in C2 images of 2008 February 19
16 January 2008: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 30) in C2 images of 2008 January 16
28 December 2007: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 84) in C2 images of 2007 December 28
21 December 2007: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 29) in C2 images of 2007 December 21
14 December 2007: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 83) in C2 images of 2007 December 14
10 December 2007: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 82) in C2 images of 2007 December 10
09 November 2007: Zhangwei Jin detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 81) in C2 images of 2007 October 28
28 October 2007: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 80) in C2 images of 2007 October 28
19 September 2007: Arkadiusz Kubczak detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 79) in C2 images of 2007 September 14
18 May 2007: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 78) in C2 images of 2007 May 18
02 May 2007: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 77) in C2 images of 2007 May 02
28 March 2007: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 76) in C2 and C3 images of 2007 March 28
13 February 2007: Bo Zhou detects a possible Kracht group comet (no. 29) in archival C2 images of 2004 May 13
07 February 2007: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 75) in C2 images of 2007 February 07
11 January 2007: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 74) in C2 images of 2007 January 11
15 December 2006: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 73) in C2 images of 2006 December 15
23 November 2006: The presumed Meyer group comet no. 72 turned out to be a non-group comet. Thus the candidate from Oct. 20, 2006, will be presumably no. 72
21 October 2006: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 73) in C2 images of 2006 October 20
11 October 2006: Bo Zhou detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 72) in C2 and C3 images of 2006 October 09/10
02 September 2006: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 71) in C2 images of 2006 September 02
23 May 2006: Added own orbital elements for all Meyer group comets.
9 May 2006: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 70) in C2 images of 2006 May 7/8
26 March 2006: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 28) in C2 images of 2006 March 25
23 March 2006: Tony Hoffman detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 69) in C2 images of 2006 March 22/23
22 March 2006: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 68) in C2 images of 1997 December 15
15 March 2006: Rob Matson detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 27) in C3 images of 2006 March 15
09 March 2006: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 67) in C2 images of 1998 April 11
26 January 2006: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 66) in C2 images of January 26
04 January 2006: Rainer Kracht detects one further possible Kracht group comet (no. 28) in C2 images of 05 December 1996, and three possible Marsden group comets (no. 24-26) in C2 images of 29 January 1997.
29 December 2005: Rainer Kracht detects two possible Kracht group comets (no. 26 and 27) in C2/C3 images of December 1996. These are possible precursors of C/2002 S4, S5, S7, and S11.
27 December 2005: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 65) in C2/C3 images of December 25
23 December 2005: B. G. Marsden links Marsden group comets C/1999 U2 and C/2005 W5.
04 December 2005: Bo Zhou's Kracht comet C/2005 W4 (SOHO) was linked by B. G. Marsden to C/2000 O3 (SOHO).
01 December 2005: Hua Su detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 23) in C2/C3 images of November 29
21 November 2005: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 64) in C2 images of November 20
19 November 2005: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 63) in C2 images of November 19
18 November 2005: Hua Su's Marsden comet was confirmed as C/2005 W1 (SOHO). B. G. Marsden presented a link between this comet and C/2000 C4 (SOHO).
17 November 2005: Hua Su detects a rather bright possible Marsden group comet (no. 22) in C2/C3 images of November 16/17
08 October 2005: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 62) in C2 images of October 08
2005 September 08: S. F. Hönig reports in a paper accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics about the successful linkage of two SOHO comets. C/1999 R1 and C/2003 R5 seem to be identical. The orbital period is almost exactly 4 years. Both comets were assumed to be members of a further possible comet group together with comet C/2002 R5 (SOHO). In the paper it is shown that the latter comet might have been separated from the main component at the end of the 19^th century and thus strengthens the presented link. The return of C/2002 R5 is predicted for summer 2006 (assuming a comparable orbital period as the main component), while the return of C/1999 R1 = C/2003 R5 will occur on Sep. 11, 2007. The chances for detecting the main component are higher because it is brighter than the fragment. The paper is available as a pre-print.
04 September 2005: Tony Hoffmans possible Marsden group comet turned out to be a 'sporadic' comet. Also the relation to C/2003 Q1 could not be confirmed.
An interesting review paper by B. G. Marsden, "Sungrazing Comets", has been published in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics
30 August 2005: Tony Hoffman a possible Marsden group comet (no. 22?) in C2 images of August 30, possibly this one is related to C/2003 Q1
25 August 2005: Hua Su detects a possible Meyer group comet (no. 61) in C2 images of August 25
23 August 2005: Tony Hoffman detects a Meyer group comet (no. 60) in C2 images of August 23
26 July 2005: Tony Hoffman detects a Meyer group comet (no. 59) in C2 images of July 26
08 July 2005 Added and extended the references section.
28 May 2005: Rainer Kracht detects a Meyer group comet (no. 58) in C2 images of May 28
17 May 2005: Rainer Kracht detects a Meyer group comet (no. 57) in C2 images of May 15
29 Apr 2005: Bo Zhou detects a Meyer group comet (no. 56) in C2 images of Apr 28/29
17 Apr 2005: Hua Su detects a Meyer group comet (no. 55) in C2 images of Apr 17
14 Apr 2005: Hua Su detects a Marsden group comet (no. 21) in C3 images of Apr 14
23 Mar 2005: Rainer Kracht reports an archival Meyer group comet (no. 54) of July 1996 in C3 and C2
22 Mar 2005: Rainer Kracht reports an archival Marsden group comet (no. 20) of Nov 1996 in C3
16 Mar 2005: Marsden group comet C/2005 E4 possibly identical with C/1999 N5
13 Mar 2005: Rainer Kracht detects a possible Marsden group comet (no. 19) in C2 images of 2005 March 10
02 Feb 2005: Hua Su finds a possible Meyer group comet (no. 53) in C2 of 02 Feb 2005
31 Jan 2005: Bo Zhou finds a possible Meyer group comet (no. 52) in C2 of 30 Jan 2005
18 Dec 2004: I have rearranged the structure of the pages. Over the next weeks there will be also a change and extension of the content of the individual pages.
16 Dec 2004: MPEC 2004-X73 reports about the possible linking of Marsden and Kracht group comets. To include this new knowledge I will do a revision of this page in a few days.

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If you have any questions, please email me (maik@comethunter.de).