271P/van Houten–Lemmon (previously P/1960 S1 and P/2012 TB36) is a short-period comet discovered in 1966 by Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld on eight Palomar plates taken by Tom Gehrels between 24 September and 26 October 1960 as a hazy object of 17th magnitude. It was considered lost and designated D/1960 S1 until recovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 17 September 2012.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten and I. van Houten-Groeneveld |
| Discovery date | 1966 |
| Alternative designations | 1961 X |
| Orbital characteristics A | |
| Epoch | 2013-11-04 |
| Aphelion | 9.726 AU |
| Perihelion | 4.2494 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 6.9878 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.39187 |
| Orbital period | 18.47 yr |
| Inclination | 6.8527° |
| Last perihelion | 2013-Jul-05[1] 1995-Apr-28[1] |
| Next perihelion | 2032-Mar-22[1] |