C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)
 STEREO HI-1A animation of comet Lovejoy approaching the Sun in December 2011 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Terry Lovejoy |
| Discovery date | 27 November 2011 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 2455900.5 (5 December 2011) |
| Aphelion | 92.4224 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.005490 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 46.2139 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.999881 |
| Orbital period | 314 ± 13 a[1] |
| Inclination | 134.785° |
| Last perihelion | 16 December 2011 |
| Next perihelion | ~2326 |
C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) is a periodic comet, classified as a Kreutz Sungrazer. It was discovered on 27 November 2011, by amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.[2] The comet's perihelion took it through the Sun's corona on 16 December 2011 at 00:35 UTC,[1] as it passed approximately 140,000 kilometres (87,000 mi) above the Sun's surface.[3] It was not expected to survive the encounter, but the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), as well as other Sun-monitoring spacecraft, observed the comet emerge from the corona intact.[4][5]
Before perihelion, the comet nucleus of Lovejoy was estimated to be between 100 and 200 metres (330 and 660 ft) in diameter, but after surviving perihelion it has been estimated that the nucleus was larger, as much as 500 m (1,600 ft) before the passage through the corona.[6] At its brightest the comet had an apparent magnitude of around -4[7] (about as bright as the planet Venus). It is the brightest Sungrazer comet ever observed by SOHO[8] and it is likely the brightest comet to appear since Comet McNaught of 2007, which shone at visual magnitude -6. However, Lovejoy was largely invisible to the naked eye during this time owing to its proximity to the Sun.
The comet first became visible to the STEREO-A spacecraft on 3 December, and to the SOHO spacecraft on 14 December. Before and after the comet passed through perihelion, it was the subject of observation campaigns by eighteen instruments on five satellites: STEREO, SOHO, SDO, Hinode and PROBA2.[7][9] It became visible to ground based telescopes and was photographed on December 17, 2011.
See also
- C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy) and C/2007 K5 (Lovejoy), other comets discovered by Lovejoy
References
- ^ a b "C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)". JPL Small-Body Database Browser. NASA.gov. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Beatty, Kelly (6 December 2011). "Comet Lovejoy's Date With Destiny". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (16 December 2011). "Sun Rips Tail From Comet During Solar Close Encounter". Space.com. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ Wall, Mike (15 December 2011). "Satellites to Watch Comet's Death Plunge Through Sun Today". Space.com. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Wall, Mike (15 December 2011). "Comet Lovejoy Survives Fiery Plunge Through Sun, NASA Says". Space.com. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Phillips, Tony (16 December 2011). "Comet Lovejoy Plunges into the Sun and Survives". Science News. NASA.gov. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ^ Battams, Karl (15 December 2011). "The Great "Birthday Comet" of 2011, Chapter 1: Inbound". Sungrazing Comets. Navy.mil. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "The Great "Birthday Comet" of 2011". SOHO. NASA.gov. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
External links
- C/2011 W3 at the JPL Small-Body Database Browser
- C/2011 W3 at the Minor Planet Center
- Real-time image on SOHO LASCO C3
- [1] on Cometography
 | This comet-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |