C/2020 F2 ATLAS
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Comet C/2020 F2 was discovered on 21 March 2020, more than three years before its perihelion passage. Later a series of pre-discovery observations were found going back to 27 May 2019 (heliocentric disctance: 10.96 au). This comet was observed until 30 May 2024 (as in February 2025).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 19 April 2022 (7.85 au); about three months before its perihelion passage.
The preferred GR solution given here is based on data span over 5.01 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 10.96 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 9.66 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a bit less tight future orbit inside the Oort spike zone (see future barycentric orbits).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 19 April 2022 (7.85 au); about three months before its perihelion passage.
The preferred GR solution given here is based on data span over 5.01 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 10.96 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 9.66 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a bit less tight future orbit inside the Oort spike zone (see future barycentric orbits).
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 1995 | |
| data interval | 2019 05 27 – 2024 05 30 | |
| data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
| data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 10.96 au – 8.82 au (perihelion) – 9.66 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 | 3950 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.34 | |
| orbit quality class | 1a+ | |
| next 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 | |
| next reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 26.23 – 26.60 – 26.95 | |
| next perihelion distance [au] | 80 – 83.7 – 87.8 | |
| next aphelion distance [103 au] | 74.1 – 75.1 – 76.2 | |
| time interval to next perihelion [Myr] | 6.71 – 6.85 – 6.99 | |
| percentage of VCs with qnext > 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).
| next_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 | |
| next reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 27.63 – 28.02 – 28.42 | |
| next perihelion distance [au] | 11 – 12 – 14 | |
| next aphelion distance [103 au] | 70.4 – 71.4 – 72.4 | |
| time interval to next perihelion [Myr] | 6.34 – 6.47 – 6.59 | |
| percentage of VCs with qnext < 10 | 3 | |
| percentage of VCs with 10 < qnext < 20 | 97 | |