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Periodic comet with 7 year orbit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
168P/Hergenrother is a periodic comet in the Solar System. The comet originally named P/1998 W2 returned in 2005 and got the temporary name P/2005 N2.[4] The comet was last observed in January 2020,[1] and may have continued fragmenting after the 2012 outburst.
168P/Hergenrother during its 2012 outburst. By Mount Lemmon Observatory. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carl W. Hergenrother |
| Discovery date | November 22, 1998 |
| Designations | |
| P/1998 W2 P/2005 N2 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 5.839 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.426 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.632 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.6075 |
| Orbital period | 6.923 a |
| Inclination | 21.8934° |
| Last perihelion | August 5, 2019[1][2] October 1, 2012[3] November 2, 2005 |
| Next perihelion | 2026-May-18[1] |
| Earth MOID | 0.4 AU (60 million km) |
The comet came to perihelion on October 1, 2012,[3] and was expected to reach about apparent magnitude 15.2, but due to an outburst the comet reached apparent magnitude 8.[5] As a result of the outburst of gas and dust, the comet was briefly more than 500 times brighter than it would have been without the outburst.[6] On October 19, 2012, images by the Virtual Telescope Project showed a dust cloud trailing the nucleus.[7] Images by the 2 m (79 in) Faulkes Telescope North on October 26, 2012, confirm a fragmentation event.[8] The secondary fragment was about magnitude 17. Further observations by the 8.1 m (320 in) Gemini telescope show that the comet fragmented into at least four parts.[9]
168P came to perihelion on August 5, 2019,[1] when it was 76 degrees from the Sun. It then made a closest approach to Earth on 6 November 6, 2019, when it was 1 AU (150 million km) from Earth with a solar elongation of about 110 degrees. It was not recovered until January 3, 2020, when it was 141 degrees from the Sun, but only two observations on a single night were reported.
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