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C/2003 O1 LINEAR



data set of C/2003 O1

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General description

Comet C/2003 O1 was discovered 1.6 yr before perihelion passage and next observed 3.6 yr during its five oppositions in a range of heliocentric distances: 7.88 au – 6.847 au (perihelion) – 7.19 au.

Comet had its closest approach to Earth on 30 July 2003 (6.447 au, 8.5 months before perihelion).

C/2003 O1 suffered almost insignificant planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system.

Figure caption: Time distribution of positional observations with corresponding heliocentric (red curve) and geocentric (green curve) distance at which they were taken. The horizontal dotted line shows the perihelion distance for a given comet whereas vertical dotted line — the moment of perihelion passage.





SSDP Cometary Note C2003O1A5-001

Comet C/2003 O1 LINEAR

number of observations 576
number of residuals 1132
data interval 2002 July 27 — 2006 Feb. 25
rms [arcsec] 0.53
orbit quality class 1a+

Osculating orbital elements (heliocentric; ecliptic J2000.0)

Epoch (TT) 20040316.0 = JD 2453080.5
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20040317.205369 ± 0.001326
perihelion distance 6.84737543 ± 0.00000627
eccentricity 1.00154618 ± 0.00000557
argument of perihelion [deg] 81.673255 ± 0.000100
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 347.643862 ± 0.000018
inclination [deg] 117.981596 ± 0.000009
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] -225.81 ± 0.81

Note: Epoch is given in a format: yyyymmdd.d, time of perihelion passage in a format of yyyymmdd.dddddd.
data set of C/2003 O1

Figure caption: Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of original swarm (5001 VCs) of C/2003 O1. Each density map is given in logarithmic scale presented on the right in the individual panel.
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Original orbital elements (barycentric; at 250 au from the Sun)

Epoch (TT) 16930922
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20040318.409817 ± 0.001324
perihelion distance 6.84602108 ± 0.00000628
eccentricity 0.99876093 ± 0.00000557
argument of perihelion [deg] 81.744265 ± 0.000100
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 347.582499 ± 0.000018
inclination [deg] 117.993001 ± 0.000008
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] 180.99 ± 0.81

Note: Values of uncertainties of original/future orbital elements were derived using a swarm of 5001 osculating orbits of VCs (including the nominal osculating orbit given above) for original/future orbital evolution calclulations and then by fitting the distribution of a given orbital element of original/future swarm of VCs to Gaussian distribution.

Original barycentric positions and velocities of 5001 VCs at 250 au from the Sun are given here   (data format), i.e. before entering the planetary zone.





data set of C/2003 O1

Figure caption: Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of future swarm (5001 VCs) of C/2003 O1. Each density map is given in logarithmic scale presented on the right in the individual panel.
The same figure in the new window

Future orbital elements (barycentric; at 250 au from the Sun)

Epoch (TT) 23140730
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20040318.258930 ± 0.001325
perihelion distance 6.85105293 ± 0.00000620
eccentricity 0.99881266 ± 0.00000557
argument of perihelion [deg] 81.732625 ± 0.000100
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 347.606280 ± 0.000018
inclination [deg] 117.982590 ± 0.000008
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] 173.31 ± 0.81


Future barycentric positions and velocities of 5001 VCs at 250 au from the Sun are given here   (data format), i.e. after leaving the planetary zone.





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