P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)

P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) is a Jupiter-family comet discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System on 10 June 2019. It was initially reported as the first known Jupiter trojan asteroid to display cometary activity, but its classification as a Jupiter trojan was retracted after closer examination and a longer observation arc revealed its orbit to be unstable like a typical Jupiter family comet and implied that its position near the trojans is temporary.

P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)
P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in April 2020
Discovery
Discovered byATLAS-MLO
Discovery siteMauna Loa Obs.
Discovery date10 June 2019 (first observed)
Designations
2019 LD2
Jupiter-family comet
periodic
centaur
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 27 July 2019 (JD 2458691.5)
Uncertainty parameter 4
Observation arc2.00 yr (729 d)
Earliest precovery date21 May 2018
Aphelion6.0774 AU
Perihelion4.5784 AU
5.3279 AU
Eccentricity0.14068
12.3 yr
339.529°
0° 4m 48.518s / day
Inclination11.517°
180.217°
122.688°
Jupiter MOID0.0334843 AU
TJupiter2.940
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
~14 km (assuming albedo of 0.12)
19.0
12.20±0.83 (M1=6.9±0.8)
12.1
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.