243P/NEAT
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) |
| Discovery date | 24 September 2003 |
| Designations | |
| P/2003 S2, P/2010 P5 | |
| Orbital characteristics[3][4] | |
| Epoch | 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5) |
| Observation arc | 21.92 years |
| Earliest precovery date | 1 August 2003 |
| Number of observations | 782 |
| Aphelion | 5.206 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.448 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.827 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.36033 |
| Orbital period | 7.487 years |
| Inclination | 7.645° |
| 87.577° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 283.77° |
| Mean anomaly | 320.96° |
| Last perihelion | 26 August 2018[2] |
| Next perihelion | 25 February 2026 |
| TJupiter | 2.944 |
| Earth MOID | 1.469 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.604 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5] | |
Mean radius | 0.81–1.55 km (0.50–0.96 mi) |
| 0.04 (assumed) | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 9.9 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.8 |
243P/NEAT is a periodic comet currently with a 7.49-year orbit around the Sun.
Physical characteristics
In 2008, Elena M. Epifani observed the comet while it was inactive at a distance of 4.0 AU (600 million km), where she estimated that the nucleus has an effective radius of 0.81–1.55 km (0.50–0.96 mi), assuming that it has a geometric albedo of 0.04.[5] Yanga R. Fernández estimated a revised upper limit of approximately 0.6 km (0.37 mi) based on Spitzer thermal observations in 2013.[6] Michael S. P. Kelley stated that both results can be simultaneously true if the comet has an axial ratio of a/b > 1.3,[7] which is a modest value for typical cometary nuclei.[8]
References
- ^ M. Hicks; R. Apitzsch; P. Birtwhistle; et al. (25 September 2003). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2003 S2 (NEAT)". IAU Circular. 8209 (2). Bibcode:2003IAUC.8209....2H.
- ^ S. Yoshida. "243P/NEAT". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "243P/NEAT – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "243P/NEAT Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ a b E. M. Epifani; P. Palumbo; M. T. Capria; et al. (2008). "The distant activity of Short Period Comets II" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 390 (1): 265–280. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.390..265M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13718.x.
- ^ Y. R. Fernández; M. S. P. Kelley; P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; O. Groussin; et al. (2013). "Thermal properties, sizes, and size distribution of Jupiter-family cometary nuclei". Icarus. 226 (1): 1138–1170. arXiv:1307.6191. Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1138F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.021.
- ^ M. S. P. Kelley; S. Protopapa; D. Bodewits; A. N. Heinze; Y. Moulane; et al. (2025). "A Large Outburst, Coma Asymmetries, and the Color of Comet 243P/NEAT". arXiv:2506.19027 [astro-ph.EP].
- ^ M. M. Knight; R. Kokotanekova; N. H. Samarasinha (2023). "Physical and Surface Properties of Comet Nuclei from Remote Observations". arXiv:2304.09309 [astro-ph.EP].
External links
- 243P/NEAT at the JPL Small-Body Database
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