Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | A. R. Gibbs (Mount Lemmon Survey) |
Discovery date | March 22, 2012 |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch | 4 February 2012 (JD 2455961.5) |
Observation arc | 11.3 years |
Number of observations | 148 |
Aphelion | 3.130 AU |
Perihelion | 2.877 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.004 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.042 |
Orbital period | 5.21 years (1902 days) |
Inclination | 9.740° |
216.86° | |
Argument of periapsis | 177.40° |
Last perihelion | 29 September 2020[1] 16 June 2015 |
Next perihelion | 2025-Dec-25[1] |
TJupiter | 3.229 |
Earth MOID | 1.88 AU |
Jupiter MOID | 2.08 AU |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | ~2-5 km |
Comet total magnitude (M1) | 12.3 |
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 15.4 |
331P/Gibbs (P/2012 F5) is a small periodic Encke-type and rare main-belt comet, discovered by American amateur astronomer Alex Gibbs.[2]