C/2017 U7 (PANSTARRS)

DEPARTED

Type: Hyperbolic Perihelion date: 14 September 2019 Perihelion distance (q): 6.4 Aphelion distance (Q) : n/a Period (years): n/a Eccentricity (e): 1.00 Inclination (i): 142.6 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve An asteroidal object of 20th magnitude was discovered in PanSTARRS images taken with the 1.8m Ritchey-Chretien on 29 October 2017. The orbit was slightly hyperbolic, but despite much imaging no coma was detected. It was therefore given a cometary letter designation with an A/ prefix. Following perihelion in September 2019, several observers reported that they had detected a cometary appearance, but it was nearly two years after the first report before the object was classified as a comet, on 19 March 2020. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 08-Apr-22 18.8 0.4 27-Apr-22 19.0 0.4 11-May-22 18.9 0.4 23-May-22 18.9 0.4 07-Jun-22 18.9 0.4 24-Jun-22 19.7 0.4 16-Jul-22 19.8 0.4