C/1997 P2 Spacewatch
more info
Comet C/1997 P2 was discovered on 12 August 1997 at Kitt Peak (Spacewatch). It was then 2.5 weeks before perihelion passage; four days after itmade its closest approach to the Earth (on 16 August 1997, 3.26 au). Comet was observed 49 days (0.13 yr) in a narrow range of heliocentric distances: 4.267 au – 4.264 au (perihelion) – 4.272 au.
C/1997 P2 passed close to Jupiter six months before perihelion passage (0.652 au, 25 February 1997).
This likely Oort spike comet suffers strong planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system. These perturbations lead to escape of the comet from the solar system on hiperbolic orbit (see future barycentric orbit).
See also Królikowska and Dybczyński 2017.

solution description
number of observations 95
data interval 1997 08 12 – 1997 09 30
data type perihelion within the observation arc (FULL)
data arc selection entire data set (STD)
range of heliocentric distances 4.27 au – 4.26 au (perihelion) – 4.27 au
detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion NG effects not determinable
type of model of motion GR - gravitational orbit
data weighting YES
number of residuals 184
RMS [arcseconds] 0.59
orbit quality class 2b
orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000)
Epoch 1694 01 20
perihelion date 1997 09 14.38340421 ± 0.77456684
perihelion distance [au] 4.21862723 ± 0.00125799
eccentricity 1.00005882 ± 0.00005806
argument of perihelion [°] 25.983973 ± 0.133742
ascending node [°] 303.456441 ± 0.009622
inclination [°] 14.535008 ± 0.007491
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] -13.94 ± 13.77
file containing 5001 VCs swarm
1997p2a5.bmi
Time distribution of positional observations with corresponding heliocentric (red curve) and geocentric (green curve) distance at which they were taken. The horizontal dotted line shows the perihelion distance for a given comet whereas vertical dotted line — the moment of perihelion passage.
Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of original swarm including 5001 VCs. Each density map is given in logarithmic scale presented on the right in the individual panel.