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C/2011 J2 (LINEAR) is an Oort cloud comet discovered on 4 May 2011 by LINEAR at an apparent magnitude of 19.7 using a 1-meter (39 in) Reflecting telescope.[1][2] As of September 2014 the comet is around apparent magnitude 17.[3]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR (704)[1][2] |
| Discovery date | 4 May 2011 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 14 December 2013[3] |
| Orbit type | Oort cloud |
| Aphelion | ~50000 AU (inbound)[4] |
| Perihelion | 3.4434 AU (q)[3] |
| Eccentricity | 1.00051[3] |
| Orbital period | several million years inbound (Barycentric solution for epoch 1950)[4] Ejection trajectory outbound (Barycentric solution for epoch 2050)[4] |
| Inclination | 122.79°[3] |
| Last perihelion | 25 December 2013[3] |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.55 AU |
C/2011 J2 came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 25 December 2013 at a distance of 3.4 AU from the Sun.[3] On 27 August 2014 an 18th magnitude fragment CK11J02b was detected.[3] Preliminary estimates are that a fragmentation event occurred around 14 July 2014 plus/minus ten days.[5] In mid-July 2014 the comet was 3.9 AU from the Sun.
Fragment C was detected in October 2014 by Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes, and Martino Nicolini.[6]
C/2011 J2 is dynamically new. It came from the Oort cloud with a loosely bound chaotic orbit that was easily perturbed by galactic tides and passing stars. Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2011 J2 had an orbital period of several million years.[4] After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will be on an ejection trajectory.[4]
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