Comet P/1896 R2 = Comet 2008 R6 (Giacobini) The magnitude 15 Comet 2008 R6 (Giacobini) was recovered by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki (Yamagata), on September 10, 2008 using a CCD camera on a 0.6 m Newtonian. The new comet is probably the reappearance of 1896 R2 (Giacobini). Comet P/1896 R2 (Giacobini), with a 6.64 year period, was originally discovered by the French astronomer Michel Giacobini in Nice, on September 4, 1896. The orbital elements of the comet indicate a perihelion passage on September 10, 2008 at a distance of 1.5 AU, and a 6.66 year period.
