243P/NEAT

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243P/NEAT
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT)
Discovery date24 September 2003
Designations
P/2003 S2, P/2010 P5
Orbital characteristics [2] [3]
Epoch 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5)
Observation arc 21.92 years
Earliest precovery date1 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 perihelion26 August 2018 [4]
Next perihelion25 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.

Contents

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

  1. 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.
  2. "243P/NEAT – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  3. "243P/NEAT Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  4. S. Yoshida. "243P/NEAT". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 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 .
  6. 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.
  7. 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].
  8. 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].
Numbered comets
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