450P/LONEOS

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450P/LONEOS
450P 2007-03-04 Spitzer image Level-2-PBCD-MIPS-24um.png
Infrared image of 450P/LONEOS taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope on 4 March 2007
Discovery [1] [2]
Discovery site LONEOS
Discovery date13 January 2004
Designations
P/2004 A1, P/2022 Q3
LONEOS 8
Orbital characteristics [3] [4]
Epoch 5 May 2024 (JD 2460800.5)
Observation arc 21.39 years
Earliest precovery date25 October 2003
Number of
observations		629
Aphelion 10.442 AU
Perihelion 5.449 AU
Semi-major axis 7.945 AU
Eccentricity 0.31423
Orbital period 22.396 years
Inclination 10.653°
124.35°
Argument of
periapsis 		23.148°
Mean anomaly 332.08°
Last perihelion25 August 2004
Next perihelion29 January 2027
TJupiter 2.961
Earth MOID 4.465 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.184 AU
Physical characteristics [3] [5]
Mean radius
0.5–3.5 km (0.31–2.17 mi)
(V–R) = 0.51±0.21
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		6.7
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		11.3

450P/LONEOS, also known by its formal designations P/2004 A1 and P/2022 Q3, is a distant periodic comet with a 22-year orbit around the Sun.

Contents

Observational history

Discovery

The comet was discovered as an 18th-magnitude object on CCD images taken by Brian A. Skiff as part of the Lowell Observatory's LONEOS program. [1] The LONEOS images show the object with a stellar-like appearance, but its motion prompted Skiff to request additional observations. H. R. Miller (Perkins Observatory) and J. Young (Table Mountain Observatory) later found a coma about 4 arcseconds in diameter and a very faint tail about 10 arcseconds in length, confirming its cometary nature. [1] The first orbital calculations were later published on the Minor Planet Center's website on 13 January 2004, alongside precovery images taken by the Kitt Peak Observatory dating as far back as 18 December 2003. [2]

Follow-up observations

The comet was successfully recovered from observations taken by the Gemini North Observatory in August 2022, where it was noted to be 4.5 magnitudes fainter than previously predicted. [6] [7]

Orbit

As of 2024, 450P/LONEOS has a heliocentric orbit inclined about 10.65 degrees from the ecliptic. Its perihelion distance is about 5.45 AU (815 million km) while its aphelion goes as far back as 10.44 AU (1.562 billion km) from the Sun. [4] Orbital calculations indicated that it made a close encounter with Saturn in 1992, when it came within 0.031 AU (4.6 million km) to the giant planet. [3] This resulted in its semimajor axis to be significantly decreased by 5.2 AU (780 million km). [8] A long-term orbital investigation indicated that this is likely its first sojourn to the inner Solar System as it transitions from a centaur into a Jupiter-family comet. [8] [9]

Physical characteristics

Based on its measured dust activity, the nucleus of 450P/LONEOS is likely somewhere between 0.5 km (0.31 mi) to 3.5 km (2.2 mi) in radius. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 B. A. Skiff; H. R. Miller; J. Young (13 January 2004). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2004 A1". IAU Circular. 8267. Bibcode:2004IAUC.8267....1S.
  2. 1 2 B. G. Marsden (13 January 2004). "MPEC 2004-A51: Comet P/2004 A1". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "450P/LONEOS – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 "450P/LONEOS Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 E. M. Epifani; M. Dall’Ora; D. Perna; P. Palumbo; L. Colangeli (2011). "The Cometary Activity of Centaur P/2004 A1 (LONEOS)" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 415 (4): 3097–3106. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.415.3097M. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18919.x .
  6. ↑ D. W. Green (8 October 2022). "Comet P/2004 A1 = P/2022 Q3 (LONEOS)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 5178.
  7. ↑ "MPEC 2022-T106: Comet P/2004 A1 = P/2022 Q3 (LONEOS)". www.minorplanetcenter.net. Minor Planet Center. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  8. 1 2 E. Lilly; P. Jevcak; C. A. Schambeau; K. Volk; J. Steckloff; et al. (2024). "Semimajor-axis Jumps as the Activity Trigger in Centaurs and High-perihelion Jupiter-family Comets". The Astrophysical Journal. 960 (2): L8. arXiv: 2312.06847 . Bibcode:2024ApJ...960L...8L. doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad1606 .
  9. ↑ G. Hahn; C. I. Lagerkvist; O. Karlsson; T. Oja; R. M. Stoss (2006). "P/2004 A1 (LONEOS) – A Comet under Transition from Saturn to Jupiter". Astronomische Nachrichten. 327 (1): 17–20. Bibcode:2006AN....327...17H. doi:10.1002/asna.200510484.
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