C/2021 K2 MASTER
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Comet C/2021 K2 was discovered on 22 May 2021 by MASTER-SAAO Observatory (Sutherland), that is 3.5 months before its perihelion passage.
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 13 July 2021 (4.56 au), about two months before its perihelion passage.
GR orbit given here is based on data span over 0.896 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 5.54 au – 5.47 au (perihelion) – 5.67 au.
This long-period spike comet suffers almost negligible planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; and its original and future orbits have semimajor axis of about 4,400 au.
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 13 July 2021 (4.56 au), about two months before its perihelion passage.
GR orbit given here is based on data span over 0.896 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 5.54 au – 5.47 au (perihelion) – 5.67 au.
This long-period spike comet suffers almost negligible planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; and its original and future orbits have semimajor axis of about 4,400 au.
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 80 | |
| data interval | 2021 05 10 – 2022 04 02 | |
| data type | significantly more measurements before perihelion (PRE+) | |
| data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 5.54 au – 5.47 au (perihelion) – 5.67 au | |
| detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion | NG effects not determinable | |
| type of model of motion | GR - gravitational orbit | |
| data weighting | NO | |
| number of residuals | 157 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.44 | |
| orbit quality class | 1b | |
| orbital elements (heliocentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Epoch | 2021 09 23 | |
| perihelion date | 2021 09 09.11074601 | ± 0.00936602 |
| perihelion distance [au] | 5.46700456 | ± 0.00001315 |
| eccentricity | 1.00118616 | ± 0.00001923 |
| argument of perihelion [°] | 343.317559 | ± 0.001000 |
| ascending node [°] | 282.244880 | ± 0.000069 |
| inclination [°] | 100.846223 | ± 0.000153 |
| reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | -216.97 | ± 3.52 |
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.