astro.wikisort.org - Comet

C/2011 J2 (LINEAR) is an Oort cloud comet discovered on 4 May 2011 by LINEAR at an apparent magnitude of 19.7 using a 1-meter (39 in) Reflecting telescope.[1][2] As of September 2014 the comet is around apparent magnitude 17.[3]

C/2011 J2 (LINEAR)

Discovery
Discovered by	LINEAR (704)[1][2]
Discovery date	4 May 2011
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch	14 December 2013[3]
Orbit type	Oort cloud
Aphelion	~50000 AU (inbound)[4]
Perihelion	3.4434 AU (q)[3]
Eccentricity	1.00051[3]
Orbital period	several million years inbound (Barycentric solution for epoch 1950)[4] Ejection trajectory outbound (Barycentric solution for epoch 2050)[4]
Inclination	122.79°[3]
Jupiter MOID	0.55 AU
Last perihelion	25 December 2013[3]

C/2011 J2 came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 25 December 2013 at a distance of 3.4 AU from the Sun.[3] On 27 August 2014 an 18th magnitude fragment CK11J02b was detected.[3] Preliminary estimates are that a fragmentation event occurred around 14 July 2014 plus/minus ten days.[5] In mid-July 2014 the comet was 3.9 AU from the Sun.

Fragment C was detected in October 2014 by Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes, and Martino Nicolini.[6]

C/2011 J2 is dynamically new. It came from the Oort cloud with a loosely bound chaotic orbit that was easily perturbed by galactic tides and passing stars. Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2011 J2 had an orbital period of several million years.[4] After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will be on an ejection trajectory.[4]

References

External links

• C/2011 J2 ( LINEAR ) – Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog
• C/2011 J2 Linear: nucleus splitting (Virtual Telescope 19 September 2014)
• Comet C/2011 J2 in the process of fragmenting as seen on 2 September 2014
• Comet C/2011 J2 Linear splitting: a new image (24 Sept. 2014) (Virtual Telescope 25 September 2014)
• Follow-up of splitting event in Comet C/2011 J2 (Remanzacco 1 October 2014)

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