C / 2020 F8 (SWAN)

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C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) [i]
C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) on May 2, 2020
C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) on May 2, 2020
Properties of the orbit ( animation )
Epoch:  April 26, 2020 ( JD 2,458,965.5)
Orbit type long-period
Numerical eccentricity 0.999935
Perihelion 0.430 AU
Aphelion 13285 AE
Major semi-axis 6643 AE
Sidereal period ~ 540,000 a
Inclination of the orbit plane 110.8 °
Perihelion May 27, 2020
Orbital velocity in the perihelion 64.2 km / s
history
Explorer SOHO
Date of discovery April 11, 2020
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . Please also note the note on comet articles .

C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) is a comet that was freely visible in May 2020 .

Discovery and observation

C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) was discovered on April 11, 2020 by the Australian Michael Mattiazzo on recordings of the camera of the SWAN (Solar Wind ANisotropies) experiment of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which were taken on March 25, 2020. When it was discovered, the comet had a brightness of about 8  mag and was located in the constellation crane . At the end of April 2020, its brightness was estimated to be 5.8 to 5.9 mag.

For the period between its passage through the earth on May 12th and its passage through perihelion on May 27th, a maximum brightness of 3 mag was initially predicted. After C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) reached a brightness of 4.7 mag on May 2, 2020, the comet became weaker and more diffuse again, so that it was already weaker than 7 mag on May 21. In June he could no longer be observed, possibly he had broken up.

Orbit

For the comet an elongated elliptical orbit could be determined from 376 observation data over a period of 42 days , which is inclined by around 111 ° to the ecliptic . The comet's orbit thus runs steeply against the planets of the planets and it runs in the opposite direction (retrograde) like these through its orbit. At the point closest to the Sun ( perihelion ), which the comet passed on May 27, 2020, it was about 64.4 million km from the Sun and was in the area between the orbits of Mercury and Venus . On April 23, he had passed Mars approximately 104.3 million km . On May 12th, it reached the closest approach to Earth at around 0.56 AU / 83.1 million km . On May 17th it passed Venus at a distance of about 59.6 million km and on May 28th it passed Mercury at a distance of about 63.8 million km.

According to the orbital elements , which are afflicted with a certain uncertainty, the orbit of the comet had an eccentricity of about 1,000 before it approached the inner solar system , its orbit was almost parabolic . The comet came from the Oort cloud and possibly experienced its first passage through the inner solar system as a “dynamic young” comet. This could also explain its strong increase in brightness when approaching the sun. Due to non-gravitational forces and the gravitational attraction of the planets, especially due to relatively close passages of Saturn on January 18, 2020 at a distance of slightly less than 9 AU and at Jupiter on March 15, 2020 in about 4 ¼ AU, its orbital eccentricity would be about 0 , 99935 and its semi-major axis has been reduced to about 660 AU, so that its orbital period would have been shortened to about 17,000 years. However, since the comet may have dissolved during its passage through the inner solar system, it is not certain whether it will come back close to the sun.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b T. Banner: Comets "Swan" and "Neowise": Will they soon be visible to the naked eye? In: Frankfurter Rundschau. May 20, 2020, accessed May 1, 2020 .
  2. ↑ S. Martin: SWAN comet 2020: Space rock now visible to the naked eye - how to see. In: Express. Express Newspapers, May 3, 2020, accessed May 1, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Newly found comet SWAN is approaching Earth. In: Star Walk 2. Vito Technology, April 22, 2020, accessed on May 1, 2020 .
  4. ↑ D. Dickinson: Comet Y4 ATLAS Breaks Up… Enter Comet F8 SWAN. In: Universe Today. April 15, 2020, accessed on May 1, 2020 .
  5. ↑ G. van Buitenen: C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) - DISINTEGRATED. In: astro.vanbuitenen.nl. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
  6. ↑ S. Yoshida: Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2020 July 11: North). In: Seiichi Yoshida's Home Page. May 30, 2020, accessed on May 31, 2020 .
  7. ↑ C / 2020 F8 (SWAN) in the Small-Body Database of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (English).Template: JPL Small-Body Database Browser / Maintenance / Alt
  8. ↑ SOLEX 12.1 by A. Vitagliano. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .