The connection between comet P/Machholz and the Quadrantid meteor stream

Abstract

The parent comet of the Quadrantid meteors was not observed until, perhaps, quite recently. Comet P/Maccholz (1986 VIII) currently has orbital elements that differ drastically from those of the meteor stream, but its secular perturbations involve large-scale oscillations in inclination and perihelion distance similar to those earlier found for the Quadrantids. Whether there may have been an epoch in the past, when the Quadrantids were shed by comet P/Machholz depends upon whether or not there has been enough time since that epoch for differential Jovian perturbations to cause the 180° discrepancy in nodal longitudes presently observed.