C/2020 F8 (SWAN)

C/2020 F8
Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) on May 1, 2020 from Indonesia
Discovery
Discovered bySolar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Discovery dateMarch 25, 2020[1]
Designations
SWAN01[citation needed]
Orbital characteristics
Epoch2020-Apr-26
(JD 2458965.5)
Observation arc42 days
Orbit typeOort cloud
Aphelion~1300 AU (outbound)
Perihelion0.4303 AU (64 million km)
Eccentricity0.99994
Orbital periodHyperbolic trajectory (inbound)
~17000 years (outbound)
Inclination110.8
Last perihelionMay 27, 2020
Earth MOID0.1937 AU (29 million km; 75 LD)
Jupiter MOID2.35 AU

C/2020 F8 (SWAN), or Comet SWAN, is an Oort cloud comet that was discovered in images taken by the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) camera on March 25, 2020, aboard the Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft.[2][1] In the glare of twilight, Comet SWAN is difficult to find with 50mm binoculars even though it is still near the theoretical range of naked eye visibility. The comet has dimmed since May 3.[3] As of perihelion, the comet is very diffuse, does not have a visible nucleus and is not a comet that will be noticed by inexperienced observers. It is likely that the comet disintegrated.

  1. ^ a b "Comet Y4 ATLAS Breaks Up...Enter Comet F8 SWAN". Universe Today. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "MPEC 2020-G94 : COMET C/2020 F8 (SWAN)". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference COBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).