C/2018 C2 (Lemmon)
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Mount Lemmon Survey (G96) |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Observatory |
| Discovery date | 5 February 2018 |
| Designations | |
| A/A/2018 C2 ZC82561 | |
| Hyperbolic asteroid,[2] Extended centaur, Damocloid | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 15 February 2018 (JD 2458164.5) | |
| Observation arc | 30 days |
| Perihelion | 1.9563±0.0007 AU |
| −1300±500 AU[n 1] | |
| Eccentricity | 1.0015±0.0005 |
| N/A | |
| 0° 0m 0.072s / day | |
| Inclination | 34.452° |
| 91.14° | |
| 134.15° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.061 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.405 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.7–7.6 km (assumed) |
| 19.0 (March 2018) | |
| 15.1 ± 0.63 | |
A/2018 C2 is a hyperbolic asteroid[2] discovered on 5 February 2018 by the Mount Lemmon Survey and announced on 4 March 2018 along with another such object, A/2017 U7.
Overview
Although A/2018 C2's orbit is not bound to the Solar System, unlike ʻOumuamua, it is probably not interstellar object. A barycentric orbit of A/2018 C2, shows that it is only a very distant Solar System object, approaching as far as 20,000 ± 80,000 AU from the Sun, around the distance of the Oort Cloud. It had an orbital period of roughly 1 million years until the current approach to the Solar System, where perturbations will shorten the orbit drastically to 2,900 ± 1,700 AU, with an orbital period of 55,000 years.
A/2018 C2 makes closest approach to the Sun on 2 June 2018 at a distance of 1.9 AU (outside the orbit of Mars).[3] If this object out gasses generating a cometary coma while near the inner solar system, it will be reclassified as a common hyperbolic comet.
Upon inclusion to the JPL Small-Body Database, it was incorrectly marked as "A/A/2018 C2" due to the automated database not knowing how to properly handle objects with A/ prefixes.
Notes
- ^ Objects on hyperbolic trajectories have negative semimajor axis, giving them a positive orbital energy.
References
- ^ "IAU Minor Planet Center - A/2017 U7". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: orbital class Hyperbolic Asteroid (HYA)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (A/A/2018 C2)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
External links
- C/2018 C2 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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