Type Periodic Perihelion Date 27 May 2016 Perihelion Distance (q) 4.9 Aphelion Distance (Q) 71.9 Period (Years)   238.0 Eccentricity (e)   0.87 Inclination (i)   19.0 Click for NASA orbit diagram

This unusual asteroid was discovered at the Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak with the Spacewatch 0.9m reflector on 2011 May 21. It has a period of around 240 years and perihelion is at 4.9 au in 2016 May. The aphelion distance is nearly 100 au. The orbit has a Tisserand criterion of 2.64 with respect to Jupiter and the object can pass within 0.3 au of the planet. In May 2012 cometary features were detected by chance by Tomas Vorobjov, with follow-up observations by Sergei Foglia, Luca Buzzi (as described by Luca) and the object was then given a cometary designation. 11 electronic observations received so far give a preliminary light curve of m = -4.8 + 5 log d +  [20] log r which suggests that it could be within visual range during 2015 and 2016. Date 10x10 mag Error Kphot mag Coma ' 13 Aug 14 17.36 0.05 17.1 0.2 27-Mar-15 16.50 0.04 13.6 0.2 19-Apr-15 16.53 0.02 14.6 0.2 22-May-15 16.30 0.03 14.1 0.2 10-Jun-15 16.20 0.04 12.9 0.3 26-Jun-15 16.01 0.05 14.0 0.3 19-Jul-15 15.76 0.04 13.5 0.3 26-Jul-15 15.58 0.02 11.9 0.3 08-Aug-15 15.60 0.02 13.0 0.3 15-Aug-15 15.61 0.03 11.9 0.4 21-Aug-15 15.69 0.00 13.0 0.2 03-Sep-15 15.62 0.03 12.3 0.3 12-Sep-15 15.76 0.01 13.5 0.5 12-Sep-15 15.76 0.01 13.5 0.6 19-Sep-15 15.78 0.01 12.9 0.5 05-Oct-15 15.94 0.01 13.3 0.3 13-Oct-15 15.85 0.01 13.4 0.9 03-Nov-15 15.88 0.01 12.9 0.4 05-Nov-15 15.88 0.01 12.5 0.4 09-Jun-16 15.85 0.01 12.6 0.5 30-Aug-16 15.41 0.02 11.9 1.1 06-Sep-16 15.47 0.01 12.6 1.1 25-Sep-16 15.14 0.04 11.8 1.6 29-Oct-16 15.64 0.01 13.1 1.4 06-Nov-16 15.88 0.01 12.6 0.4 23-Nov-16 15.85 0.01 13.1 0.8 19-Dec-16 16.15 0.01 12.1 0.6 26-Dec-16 16.16 0.04 12.8 0.5 22-Jan-17 16.41 0.03 13.4 0.6 30-Jul-17 16.94 0.06 14.5 0.6 20-Aug-17 17.00 0.06 14.1 0.6 28-Aug-17 16.84 0.05 13.3 0.4 23-Sep-17 16.84 0.08 13.8 0.5 27-Sep-17 16.94 0.02 14.8 0.5 18-Oct-17 16.69 0.01 14.2 0.4 26-Oct-17 16.61 0.02 14.2 0.5 13-Nov-17 16.59 0.03 14.5 0.4 23-Nov-17 16.70 0.02 14.2 0.5 20-Dec-17 16.99 0.02 14.8 0.6 05-Feb-18 17.49 0.03 14.5 0.4 13-Feb-18 17.22 0.02 15.0 0.4 08-Mar-18 17.36 0.03 15.6 0.4 17-Mar-18 17.45 0.02 n/a n/a