460P/PanSTARRS

460P/PanSTARRS
Radar images of 460P/PanSTARRS from its 2016 Earth flyby[1]
Discovery
Discovered byPan-STARRS
Discovery date22 January 2016
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch12 April 2016 (JD 2457490.5)
Observation arc0.86 yr (313 days)
Aphelion5.036 AU
Perihelion1.009 AU
Semi-major axis3.022 AU
Eccentricity0.6663
Orbital period5.25 years (1,919 days)
Inclination18.919°
180.534°
Argument of
periapsis
351.896°
Mean anomaly36.425°
Last perihelion17 June 2021
15 March 2016
Next perihelion21 September 2026
TJupiter2.797
Earth MOID0.01617 AU (2,419,000 km)
Jupiter MOID0.09361 AU (14,004,000 km)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions1 km[3]
36.6 h
0.03[1]
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
21.3±0.5
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
23.1±0.6

460P/PanSTARRS (also known with the provisional designation P/2016 BA14) is a near-Earth object and periodic comet of the Jupiter family, with an orbital period of 5.25 years. In March 2016 it passed at distance of 2.2 million miles (3.5 million km, or 9 lunar distances) from Earth.[1] It was the closest approach by a comet since 1770 and 3rd closest recorded comet to Earth.[4] The close flyby enabled the size of the nucleus to be calculated at about 1 km (0.62 mi) in diameter, which was much bigger than expected.[1][3] The comet is very dark, reflecting about 2-3 percent of the visible light,[1] about the same as a charcoal briquette. It has a very similar orbit as numbered comet 252P/LINEAR, and may be related to it (e.g. split off of).[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Flyby Comet Was WAY Bigger Than Thought". Space.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  2. ^ "460P/PANSTARRS". Small-Body Database Lookup. ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Comet Scanned by NASA Radar". www.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  4. ^ McKirdy, Euan. "Close call? Third-closest comet fly-by". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).