343P/NEAT-LONEOS (0343P)
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Type: Periodic
Perihelion date: 28 January 2017
Perihelion distance (q): 2.3
Aphelion distance (Q) : 8.7
Period (years): 12.8
Eccentricity (e): 0.58
Inclination (i): 5.6
JPL orbit diagram
COBS lightcurve
343P/NEAT-LONEOS = 2003 SQ215 = 2016 P3
An apparently asteroidal object reported independently by the NEAT (on 24
September 2003) and LONEOS (on 27 September 2003) projects was found to show
a nonstellar appearance in individual 30-s R-band images taken by A. Fitzsimmons
and C. Snodgrass, Queen's University of Belfast, and O. Hainaut, European
Southern Observatory (ESO), on 19 January 2004 at the ESO 3.6-m New
Technology Telescope (+ SUSI-2 camera). Fitzsimmons adds that co-addition of the
frames shows an asymmetric coma of total mag 20.3 extending 1".7 in p.a. 130
degrees.
A 20th magnitude comet was discovered in PanSTARRS 1 images taken with the
1.8m Ritchey-Chretien on 12 August 2016. Michael Meyer and Gareth Williams
identified it with 2003 SQ215, and also found earlier PanSTARRS images from 7
July, along with others taken by S. Maticic with the Crni Vrh 0.6-m f/3.3 Deltagraph on
9 August.
Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude)
Date
10x10 mag
Error
VEmag
Coma '
02-Sep-16
18.28
0.04
17.3
0.3
24-Sep-16
17.69
0.04
15.6
0.2
29-Oct-16
17.74
0.03
16.9
0.2
24-Nov-16
17.89
0.04
17.1
0.2
27-Dec-16
17.83
0.03
17.2
0.3
23-Jan-17
18.02
0.08
16.3
0.3