C/2006 M4 (SWAN)

Last updated
C/2006 M4 (SWAN)
Comet SWAN - 276705774.jpg
Comet SWAN in an outburst as photographed on 22 October 2006
Discovery
Discovered by Robert D. Matson
Michael Mattiazzo
Discovery site SOHO (SWAN)
Discovery date20 June 2006
Orbital characteristics [1] [2]
Epoch 10 November 2006 (JD 2454049.5)
Orbit type Oort cloud
Aphelion ~9,800 AU (inbound)
~2,640 AU (outbound)
Perihelion 0.783 AU
Semi-major axis 1,300 AU
Eccentricity 0.9998
Orbital period ~340,000 years (inbound)
~48,000 years (outbound)
Inclination 111.82°
148.73°
Argument of
periapsis 		62.594°
Last perihelion28 September 2006 [3]
Earth MOID 0.070 AU
Jupiter MOID 1.089 AU
Physical characteristics [2]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		11.0
4.0
(2006 apparition)

C/2006 M4 (SWAN) is a non-periodic comet discovered in late June 2006 by Robert D. Matson of Irvine, California and Michael Mattiazzo of Adelaide, South Australia in publicly available images of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). These images were captured by the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) Lyman-alpha all-sky camera on board the SOHO. The comet was officially announced after a ground-based confirmation by Robert McNaught (Siding Spring Survey) on July 12. [4]

Contents

Although perihelion was reached on 28 September 2006, [3] the comet flared dramatically from an outburst, resulting in its apparent magnitude to increase from 7.0 to 4.0 on 24 October 2006, becoming visible with the naked eye. [5] [6]

Orbit

Comet C/2006 M4 is in a hyperbolic trajectory (with an osculating eccentricity larger than 1) [3] during its passage through the inner Solar System. After leaving the influence of the planets, the eccentricity will drop below 1 and it will remain bound to the Solar System as an Oort cloud comet.

Given the extreme orbital eccentricity of this object, different epochs can generate quite different heliocentric unperturbed two-body best-fit solutions to the aphelion distance of this object. For objects at such high eccentricity, the Suns barycentric coordinates are more stable than heliocentric coordinates. Using JPL Horizons, the barycentric orbital elements for epoch 2013-May-14 generate a semi-major axis of about 1,300 AU (190 billion km) and a period of about 48,000 years. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN)". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 "C/2006 M4 (SWAN) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elements and Ephemeris for C/2006 M4 (SWAN)" (Epoch 22 September 2006). Retrieved 31 January 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ B. G. Marsden (15 July 2006). "MPEC 2006-N38: COMET C/2006 M4 (SWAN)". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  5. ↑ G. W. Kronk. "C/2006 M4 (SWAN)". Cometography.com. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  6. ↑ A. MacRobert (20 November 2006). "Comet SWAN Still Glows After Dusk". Sky & Telescope. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.