Comet Lulin
Comet Lulin (official designation C/2007 N3 (Lulin), Traditional Chinese:鹿林彗星) is a non-periodic comet. It was discovered by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. It peaked in brightness at magnitude between +4.5 and +5, becoming visible to the naked eye, and arrived at perigee for observers on Earth on February 24, 2009, and at 0.411 AU (61,500,000 km; 38,200,000 mi) from Earth.
Comet Lulin as seen on January 31st (top) and February 4th of 2009. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ye Quanzhi, Lin Chi-Sheng 0.41-m Ritchey–Chrétien (D35) |
| Discovery date | July 11, 2007 |
| Designations | |
Alternative designations | Comet Lulin |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | December 6, 2008 (2454806.5) |
| Aphelion | ~64000 AU (epoch 1800) ~2400 AU (epoch 2200) |
| Perihelion | 1.2122 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 1200 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.99998 (near parabolic) |
| Orbital period | 42,000 yr (epoch 2200) |
| Inclination | 178.37° |
| Last perihelion | January 10, 2009 |
| Next perihelion | Unknown |
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