C/2020 O2 Amaral
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Comet C/2020 O2 was discovered on 23 July 2020, more than one year before its perihelion passage. This comet was observed until 21 September 2024 (as in February 2025).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 10 Junel 2021 (3.89 au); about 2.5 months before its perihelion passage.
Currently, the preferred NG solution given here is based on data span over 3.16 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 5.76 au – 4.86 au (perihelion) – 7.44 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers small planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit (semimajor axis of about 3,800 au).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 10 Junel 2021 (3.89 au); about 2.5 months before its perihelion passage.
Currently, the preferred NG solution given here is based on data span over 3.16 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 5.76 au – 4.86 au (perihelion) – 7.44 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers small planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a more tight future orbit (semimajor axis of about 3,800 au).
solution description | ||
---|---|---|
number of observations | 1618 | |
data interval | 2020 07 23 – 2023 09 21 | |
data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 5.76 au – 4.86 au (perihelion) – 7.44 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 | 3182 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.45 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
orbital elements (heliocentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
---|---|---|
Epoch | 2021 08 14 | |
perihelion date | 2021 08 28.50396812 | ± 0.00021002 |
perihelion distance [au] | 4.86214813 | ± 0.00000112 |
eccentricity | 1.00245929 | ± 0.00000170 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 10.294858 | ± 0.000025 |
ascending node [°] | 256.755849 | ± 0.000004 |
inclination [°] | 71.747266 | ± 0.000006 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | -505.80 | ± 0.35 |

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).