Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Gregory J. Leonard |
Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs |
Discovery date | 29 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 | 12,458 days (34.11 years) |
Earliest precovery date | 5 January 1987 |
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 perihelion | 23 November 2020 |
Next perihelion | 25 September 2027 |
TJupiter | 2.853 |
Earth MOID | 0.8872 AU |
Jupiter MOID | 0.0613 AU |
Physical characteristics [5] | |
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. [6] Studies in 2022 show that 449P was a rediscovery of a previously lost comet that was spotted in 1987. [7] [2]
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 the 449P with the previously lost comet, X/1987 A2, [8] which was discovered by Robert H. McNaught and Malcolm Hartley from the Siding Spring Observatory on 5 January 1987. [7] [3] This precovery image of the comet was not found until March 1987, [9] hence precise follow-up observations were not possible at the time. [6] 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. [5]
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery, identified through its various designations, and the discoverer(s) listed.
52P/Harrington–Abell is a periodic comet in the Solar System.
Comet NEAT, formally designated as C/2002 V1, is a non-periodic comet that appeared in November 2002. The comet peaked with an apparent magnitude of approximately –0.5, making it the eighth-brightest comet seen since 1935. It was seen by SOHO in February 2003. At perihelion the comet was only 0.0992 AU (14.84 million km) from the Sun, where it was initially expected to be disintegrated, however reanalysis of its orbit has indicated that it has survived many of its previous perihelia, thus making breakup unlikely.
C/2007 W1 (Boattini) is a non-periodic comet discovered on 20 November 2007, by Andrea Boattini at the Mt. Lemmon Survey. At the peak the comet had an apparent magnitude around 5.
A minor planet is "lost" when today's observers cannot find it, because its location is too uncertain to target observations. This happens if the orbital elements of a minor planet are not known accurately enough, typically because the observation arc for the object is too short, or too few observations were made before the object became unobservable.
440P/Kobayashi is a periodic comet in the Solar System, discovered by the Japanese amateur astronomer Takao Kobayashi on January 30, 1997. It was the first comet to be discovered by an amateur astronomer with the use of CCD.
479P/Elenin, with provisional designation P/2011 NO1 (Elenin), is a periodic comet with an orbital period estimated at 13.3 years.
163P/NEAT is a periodic comet discovered on November 5, 2004 by Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) using the 1.2 meter Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory.
C/2017 T1 (Heinze) is a hyperbolic comet that passed closest to Earth on 4 January 2018 at a distance of 0.22 AU (33 million km).
C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS) is a comet, discovered using the Pan-STARRS telescopes on September 7, 2016. The comet attracted attention from many astronomers as it approached its closest point to the Sun in May 2018. It has been observed to have a very complex tail, which has been suggested to be due to a fast rotation period of the nucleus.
P/2016 G1 (PanSTARRS) was a main-belt asteroid that was destroyed by an impact event on 6 March 2016.
C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is a comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered by the ATLAS survey on 16 December 2019. It passed perihelion on 15 March 2020 at 0.84 AU from the Sun. Its orbit is very similar to C/1988 A1 (Liller), C/1996 Q1 (Tabur), C/2015 F3 (SWAN) and C/2023 V5 (Leonard), suggesting they may be fragments of a larger ancient comet.
C/2001 A2 (LINEAR) is a non-periodic comet from the Oort cloud discovered by LINEAR on 15 January 2001. The nucleus of comet split in multiple fragments during its perihelion passage. The comet brightened to an apparent magnitude of about 3.
Comet Erasmus, formally designated as C/2020 S3, is a non-periodic comet that became barely visible to the naked eye during the later months of 2020. Its maximum brightness peaked as a 3rd-magnitude object in the night sky, however its proximity to the Sun made it a difficult object to view from the ground.
C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) is a non-periodic comet that was discovered on 1 June 2012 by LINEAR. Preliminary calculations of its orbit by Maik Meyer noted a striking similarity with that of C/1785 A1 (Messier–Mechain), however it is purely a coincidence rather than the return of the latter comet. It passed perihelion in May 2013.
Comet LINEAR, formal designation C/2012 X1, is a non-periodic comet that was observed telescopically from 2012 to 2015. It produced a powerful outburst on 21 October 2013, which raised its brightness 100 times its expected magnitude from 12 to 8.5 for several months.
P/2015 PD229 (Cameron–ISON) is a periodic comet that was initially thought to be an active centaur upon discovery. It orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Saturn once every 19.2 years, and has appeared to have made several close encounters with the giant planets from 1889 to 1949. The orbital period and low inclination mean this comet is classed as a Jupiter family comet. The comet appears to be about 13 miles across, which is bigger than most Jupiter family comets.
Comet ATLAS, formal designation C/2022 R2, is a non-periodic comet with a very small minimum orbit intersection distance with Earth, only about 0.045 AU (6.7 million km). This has led to an assessment that it may generate a potential meteor shower with a radiant in the general direction from the constellation Lepus by 22–24 November.
Comet PanSTARRS, formal designation C/2022 A2, is a faint hyperbolic comet that passed through the inner Solar System in February 2023. It is one of many comets discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey.