C/2019 K7 Smith
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Comet C/2019 K7 was discovered on 30 May 2019, more than one year before its perihelion passage. Later a few pre-discovery observations were found from 8 and 9 October 2017. This comet was observed until 4 April 2024 (as in February 2025).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 16 July 2020 (3.65 au), a month after its perihelion passage.
The preferred NG solution given here span over 6.49 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 8.64 au – 4.48 au (perihelion) – 10.95 au; orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently are also presented.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit with semimajor axis of about 2,500 au (see future barycentric orbit).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 16 July 2020 (3.65 au), a month after its perihelion passage.
The preferred NG solution given here span over 6.49 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 8.64 au – 4.48 au (perihelion) – 10.95 au; orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently are also presented.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit with semimajor axis of about 2,500 au (see future barycentric orbit).
solution description | ||
---|---|---|
number of observations | 2748 | |
data interval | 2017 10 08 – 2024 04 04 | |
data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 8.64 au – 4.48 au (perihelion) – 10.95 au | |
detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion | comet with determinable NG~orbit | |
type of model of motion | GR - gravitational orbit | |
data weighting | YES | |
number of residuals | 5432 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.42 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
orbital elements (heliocentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
---|---|---|
Epoch | 2017 09 04 | |
perihelion date | 2020 06 16.72229173 | ± 0.00009081 |
perihelion distance [au] | 4.47707770 | ± 0.00000058 |
eccentricity | 1.00141629 | ± 0.00000107 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 27.233946 | ± 0.000012 |
ascending node [°] | 307.892740 | ± 0.000003 |
inclination [°] | 103.506769 | ± 0.000003 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | -316.34 | ± 0.24 |

Upper panel: 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.
Middle panel(s): O-C diagram for a given solution (sometimes in comparison to another solution available in CODE), where residuals in right ascension are shown using magenta dots and in declination by blue open circles.
Lowest panel: Relative weights for a given data set(s).
Middle panel(s): O-C diagram for a given solution (sometimes in comparison to another solution available in CODE), where residuals in right ascension are shown using magenta dots and in declination by blue open circles.
Lowest panel: Relative weights for a given data set(s).