449P/Leonard

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449P/Leonard
449P 2020-11-17 image ZTF-sso-607-zr-size-5.4arcmin.png
449P/Leonard on 17 November 2020, imaged by the Zwicky Transient Facility
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Gregory J. Leonard
Discovery site Mount Lemmon Obs
Discovery date29 September 2020
Designations
  • X/1987 A2, P/2013 Y3
  • P/2020 S6
  • PK20S060 [1]
  • PJ87A020 [2]
  • PK13Y030
  • KM1987-1 [3]
Orbital characteristics [4]
Epoch 20 October 2020 (JD 2459142.5)
Observation arc 34.11 years
Earliest precovery date5 January 1987 [5]
Number of
observations		294
Aphelion 5.322 AU
Perihelion 1.875 AU
Semi-major axis 3.598 AU
Eccentricity 0.47899
Orbital period 6.82 years
Inclination 15.459°
242.571°
Argument of
periapsis 		176.652°
Last perihelion23 November 2020
Next perihelion25 September 2027
TJupiter 2.853
Earth MOID 0.8872 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.0613 AU
Physical characteristics [6]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		8.6
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		17.7
17.5
(1987 apparition)

449P/Leonard is a periodic comet that orbits the Sun once every 6.83 years. [7] Studies in 2022 show that 449P was a rediscovery of a previously lost comet that was spotted in 1987. [2] [8]

Contents

Discovery and observations

On 29 September 2020, Gregory J. Leonard discovered a new comet about 21.5 in apparent magnitude from images taken from the 1.5 m (59 in) telescope of the Mount Lemmon Observatory. [1] Orbital calculations showed it had reached its most recent perihelion on 23 November 2020, and it has frequent close passes with Jupiter, where the comet had passed about 0.064 AU (9.6 million km) from the giant planet in 1983, [4] reducing its orbital period from 13.2 years to just 6.82 years. [3]

In 2022, Maik Meyer linked 449P with the previously lost comet, X/1987 A2, [9] which was discovered by Robert H. McNaught and Malcolm Hartley from the Siding Spring Observatory on 5 January 1987. [8] [3] This precovery image of the comet was not found until March 1987, [5] hence precise follow-up observations were not possible at the time. [7] Subsequently, scientists have also identified P/2013 Y6 as another previous apparition of the comet, which was observed from the Mauna Kea Observatory between 2013 and 2014. [2]

The comet will next return to the inner Solar System on 25 September 2027. [6]

Physical characteristics

Photometric observations conducted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) between October 2020 and February 2021 revealed that 449P/Leonard has a dust production rate about ≤2.0 kg/s (4.4 lb/s), which corresponds to a maximum Afρ value of 8.2±0.6 cm about 28 days before and after perihelion. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 G. J. Leonard; et al. (21 October 2020). "Comet P/2020 S6 (Leonard)". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. 2020-U151.
  2. 1 2 3 M. Meyer; S. Deen (5 October 2022). "Comet P/2020 S6 = P/1987 A2 = P/2013 Y3 (Leonard)". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. 2020-T74.
  3. 1 2 3 G. W. Kronk; M. Meyer (2024). Catalog of Unconfirmed Comets. Vol. 2: 1900–Present. Springer Nature. pp. 353–354. ISBN   978-3-031-56691-2. ISSN   2509-3118.
  4. 1 2 "449P/Leonard – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  5. 1 2 R. H. McNaught; M. Hartley; C. Torres (31 March 1987). D. W. Green (ed.). "Possible Comets". IAU Circulars. 4355 (1). Bibcode:1987IAUC.4355....1M.
  6. 1 2 S. Yoshida. "449P/Leonard". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 J. Shanklin. "BAA Comet Section: Periodic Comets 400–499". University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 M. Meyer; S. Deen; S. Nakano (6 October 2022). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2020 S6 = X/1987 A2 = P/2013 Y3 (Leonard)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 5173.
  9. ↑ B. G. Marsden; G. V. Williams (1996). Catalogue of Cometary Orbits (11th ed.). International Astronomical Union. p. 108. ASIN   B0006P0NTM. Bibcode:1996cco..book.....M. ISBN   978-0-894-90095-2.
  10. ↑ A. F. Gillan; A. Fitzsimmons; L. Denneau; R. J. Siverd; et al. (2024). "Dust Production Rates in Jupiter-family Comets: A Two Year Study with ATLAS Photometry". The Planetary Science Journal. 5 (1): 25–39. arXiv: 2312.06817 . Bibcode:2024PSJ.....5...25G. doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad1394 .
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