460P/PanSTARRS
460P/PanSTARRS (also known with the provisional designation P/2016 BA14) is a near-Earth object and periodic comet of the Jupiter family, with an orbital period of 5.25 years. In March 2016 it passed at distance of 2.2 million miles (3.5 million km, or 9 lunar distances) from Earth. It was the closest approach by a comet since 1770 and 3rd closest recorded comet to Earth. The close flyby enabled the size of the nucleus to be calculated at about 1 km (0.62 mi) in diameter, which was much bigger than expected. The comet is very dark, reflecting about 2-3 percent of the visible light, about the same as a charcoal briquette. It has a very similar orbit as numbered comet 252P/LINEAR, and may be related to it (e.g. split off of).
Radar images of 460P/PanSTARRS from its 2016 Earth flyby | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS |
| Discovery date | 22 January 2016 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 12 April 2016 (JD 2457490.5) |
| Aphelion | 5.036 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.009 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.022 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.6663 |
| Orbital period | 5.25 years (1,919 days) |
| Inclination | 18.919° |
Longitude of ascending node | 180.534° |
| Argument of periapsis | 351.896° |
| Mean anomaly | 36.425° |
| Last perihelion | 17 June 2021 15 March 2016 |
| Next perihelion | 21 September 2026 |
| TJupiter | 2.797 |
| Earth MOID | 0.01617 AU (2,419,000 km) |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.09361 AU (14,004,000 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1 km |
Synodic rotation period | 36.6 h |
| 0.03 | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 21.3±0.5 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 23.1±0.6 |
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