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 | 2745 | |
data interval | 2017 10 08 – 2023 06 03 | |
data arc selection | some part of the available data set (ST2) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 8.64 au – 4.48 au (perihelion) – 9.2 au | |
type of model of motion | NC - non-gravitational orbits for symmetric CO-g(r)-like function | |
data weighting | YES | |
number of residuals | 5402 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.41 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
previous orbit statistics, both Galactic and stellar perturbations were taken into account | ||
---|---|---|
no. of returning VCs in the swarm | 5001 | * |
no. of escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
previous reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 23.47 – 24.96 – 26.42 | |
previous perihelion distance [au] | 290 – 560 – 780 | |
previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 74.9 – 79.6 – 84.9 | |
time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 7.55 – 8.26 – 9.12 | |
percentage of VCs with qprev > 20 | 100 |

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).
previous_g orbit statistics, here only the Galactic tide has been included | ||
---|---|---|
no. of returning VCs in the swarm | 5001 | * |
no. of escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
previous reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 23.66 – 24.99 – 26.35 | |
previous perihelion distance [au] | 16 – 22 – 31 | |
previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 75.9 – 80 – 84.5 | |
time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 7.4 – 8.02 – 8.71 | |
percentage of VCs with 10 < qprev < 20 | 37 | |
percentage of VCs with qprev > 20 | 63 |