C / 2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
| C / 2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) [i] | |
|---|---|
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| Properties of the orbit ( animation ) | |
| Orbit type | long-period |
| Numerical eccentricity | 0.998 |
| Perihelion | 1,290 AU |
| Aphelion | 1156 AE |
| Major semi-axis | 579 AU |
| Sidereal period | ≈ 14,000 a |
| Inclination of the orbit plane | 80.303 ° |
| Perihelion | January 30, 2015 |
| history | |
| Explorer | Terry Lovejoy |
| Date of discovery | 17th August 2014 |
| Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . Please also note the note on comet articles . | |
C / 2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet .
The Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy discovered the comet on August 17, 2014. The comet at that time had an apparent magnitude of approximately 15 mag. In December 2014, the apparent brightness of C / 2014 Q2 was around 7.4 mag and will increase to around 5–4 mag in January (forecast).
C / 2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) passed the earth on January 7, 2015 at a distance of 0.469 AU (70.2 million kilometers, half the solar distance). The comet reached its perihelion (point closest to the Sun) on January 30, 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU (193 million kilometers) from the Sun. Its orbital period around the sun is around 14,000 years.
In mid-December 2014, the green glowing comet was observed with the naked eye for the first time under very good conditions. It is maximally as bright as the faintest stars visible to the naked eye in good visibility (outside the cities with a clear sky). In the time of the best visibility in January (optimally around January 20th) it passes the constellations Orion and Taurus south.
See also
Web links
- Homepage of Seiichi Yoshida (English)
- Kometen.info: information with regular updates
- Vienna Working Group for Astronomy, waa.at: with visibility maps
Individual evidence
- ^ Alan MacRobert: Binocular Comet Lovejoy Heading Our Way . Sky & Telescope , December 28, 2014. Accessed January 11, 2015