C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)

Type: Hyperbolic Perihelion date: 19 December 2022 Perihelion distance (q): 1.8 Aphelion distance (Q) : n/a Period (years): n/a Eccentricity (e): 1.00 Inclination (i): 87.6 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve A 21st magnitude comet was discovered in PanSTARRS 1 images taken with the 1.8m Ritchey-Chretien on 21 May 2017. The comet was over 16 au from the Sun at discovery. JPL and the MPC give different absolute magnitudes for the comet, and it is likely that the future brightness evolution is not well determined. The comet will be a southern hemisphere object when at its brightest, but could be a binocular object for UK observers prior to perihelion. More conservative magnitude parameters suggest that it might only reach 9th magnitude. Studies of the orbit suggest that most likely it is a dynamically old comet, though there is a 30% chance that it might be an interstellar object. JPL currently designate it as a hyperbolic comet. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 21-Jun-17 18.22 0.09 17.8 0.2 18-Jul-17 18.42 0.06 16.2 0.2 29-Aug-17 19.04 0.05 18.3 0.2 12-Sep-17 18.99 0.04 17.8 0.2 11-Oct-17 18.98 0.14 18.5 0.2 18-Feb-18 18.66 0.13 18.1 0.2 17-Mar-18 18.34 0.06 17.4 0.3 16-Apr-18 18.38 0.03 18.0 0.3 08-Jun-18 18.39 0.01 17.6 0.3 24-Jun-18 18.36 0.02 17.3 0.4 14-Jul-18 18.36 0.05 17.8 0.2 03-Aug-18 18.31 0.05 17.6 0.3 28-Aug-18 18.40 0.03 17.7 0.3 27-Sep-18 18.53 0.03 17.7 0.3 04-Oct-18 18.49 0.06 17.8 0.3 11-Oct-18 18.44 0.05 17.8 0.3 07-Jun-19 17.43 0.02 16.0 0.4 27-Jun-19 17.29 0.01 16.4 0.5 02-Feb-20 16.85 0.01 14.8 0.7 21-Mar-20 16.93 0.02 15.8 0.6 01-Apr-20 16.90 0.01 15.3 0.6 24-May-20 16.68 0.01 15.3 0.7 13-Sep-20 16.34 0.02 15.1 0.6 12-Oct-20 16.20 0.04 15.6 0.6 10-Jan-21 14.7 0.4 18-Jan-21 15.54 0.02 15.2 0.4 25-Jan-21 15.81 0.01 14.3 0.6 11-Feb-21 15.6 0.4 15-Feb-21 13.7 0.8 22-Mar-21 13.6 0.8 15-Apr-21 13.3 0.9 04-May-21 15.08 0.02 12.6 1.3 04-Jun-21 15.12 0.01 12.7 0.9 16-Jun-21 13.3 0.9 01-Jul-21 15.03 0.01 13.4 0.9 10-Sep-21 13.3 0.9 03-May-22 10.7 3.2 09-May-22 10.4 4.3 23-May-22 12.84 0.03 10.1 1.9 08-Jun-22 12.57 0.05 9.9 5.6 20-Jun-22 12.46 0.01 9.4 6.4 24-Jun-22 9.3 7.1 01-Jul-22 8.7 8.3 03-Jul-22 12.23 0.03 8.6 8.8 06-Jul-22 12.33 0.01 9.2 8.5 16-Jul-22 12.29 0.02 9.5 7.7 27-Jul-22 12.31 0.01 9.7 4.9 01-Aug-22 12.34 0.02 9.9 4.5 18-Aug-22 12.30 0.03 9.4 6.0 25-Aug-22 10.1 4.7 15-Sep-23 13.1 1.1 20-Sep-23 13.8 0.6 23-Oct-23 13.1 1.3 12-Nov-23 12.8 1.7 16-Nov-23 12.6 2.1 23-Nov-23 12.9 1.5 11-Dec-23 12.6 2.1 15-Dec-23 12.8 1.7 01-Jan-24 13.1 1.3 10-Jan-24 13.3 1.3 28-Jan-24 13.9 0.9 01-Feb-24 13.7 1.3 13-Feb-24 14.0 0.9 05-Mar-24 14.5 0.8 24-Mar-24 16.0 0.4