C/2019 O3 Palomar
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Comet C/2019 O3 was discovered on 26 July 2019, more than 1.5 yr before its perihelion passage. Later a series of pre-discovery observations were found going back to 14 May 2019. This comet was observed until 24 October 2024 (as in February 2025).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 23 July 2020 (8.27 au); 7.5 months before its perihelion passage.
Currently, preferred NG solution given here are based on data span over 5.39 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 9.61 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 11.51 au. Orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently were also obtained.
This Oort spike comet suffers small planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit with semimajor axis of about 7,200 au (see future barycentric orbits).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 23 July 2020 (8.27 au); 7.5 months before its perihelion passage.
Currently, preferred NG solution given here are based on data span over 5.39 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 9.61 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 11.51 au. Orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently were also obtained.
This Oort spike comet suffers small planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit with semimajor axis of about 7,200 au (see future barycentric orbits).
solution description | ||
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number of observations | 2307 | |
data interval | 2019 05 14 – 2024 10 05 | |
data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 9.61 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 11.51 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 | 4565 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.42 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
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Epoch | 2334 08 14 | |
perihelion date | 2021 03 05.74608432 | ± 0.00072125 |
perihelion distance [au] | 8.81538597 | ± 0.00000343 |
eccentricity | 0.99873195 | ± 0.00000247 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 59.971859 | ± 0.000037 |
ascending node [°] | 300.437589 | ± 0.000007 |
inclination [°] | 89.860603 | ± 0.000003 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 143.84 | ± 0.28 |
file containing 5001 VCs swarm |
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2019o3bb.bpl |

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).