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Periodic comet with 38 year orbit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
38P/Stephan–Oterma (also known as Comet Stephan–Oterma) is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 38 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with (20 years < period < 200 years).[1] It was discovered on 22.9 January 1867, by Jérôme Eugène Coggia at Marseilles Observatory, France.[1] On 25.86 January Édouard Stephan confirmed it was a comet. It was recovered in 6 November 1942 by the Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma.[4]
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Discovery | |
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Discovered by | Coggia, Jerome E. |
Discovery date | January 22, 1867 |
Designations | |
P/1980 L2, P/1942 V1, P/1867 B1, 38P | |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch | 1981-Apr-26 (JD 2444720.5)[1] |
Aphelion | 20.920 AU (near Uranus orbit) |
Perihelion | 1.5744 AU (near Mars orbit) |
Semi-major axis | 11.247 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.86002 |
Orbital period | 37.72 yr |
Inclination | 17.981° |
Last perihelion | November 10, 2018[2][3] December 5, 1980[1][3] |
Next perihelion | 2056-Aug-28[2] |
38P/Stephan–Oterma last came to perihelion on November 10, 2018.[2][3] It was recovered by Pan-STARRS on June 24, 2017 while 5.3 AU from the Sun.[2] The next perihelion passage is August 28, 2056.[2]
It has perihelion near the orbit of Mars and has aphelion near the orbit of Uranus. Acting like a centaur-hybrid, between the years 1982 and 2067, this object will make close approaches to the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus.[5]
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