Solar System
Dynamics &
Planetology
Group 		C/2009 F4 McNaught



data set of C/2009 F4

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General description

Comet C/2009 F4 was discovered 2.8 yr before perihelion passage and next observed 6.4 yr during seven oppositions in a range of heliocentric distances: 8.96 au – 5.455 au (perihelion) – 10.5 au.

Comet had its closest approach to Earth on 3 June 2011 (5.179 au, almost seven months before perihelion).

C/2009 F4 suffered a very slight 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 C2009F4A5-001

Comet C/2009 F4 McNaught

number of observations 1204
number of residuals 2383
data interval 2009 Mar. 19 — 2015 Aug. 20
rms [arcsec] 0.51
orbit quality class 1a+

Osculating orbital elements (heliocentric; ecliptic J2000.0)

Epoch (TT) 20111225.0 = JD 2455920.5
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20111231.892450 ± 0.000207
perihelion distance 5.45486596 ± 0.00000076
eccentricity 1.00159284 ± 0.00000143
argument of perihelion [deg] 260.383469 ± 0.000015
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 53.584371 ± 0.000004
inclination [deg] 79.347586 ± 0.000007
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] -292.00 ± 0.26

Note: Epoch is given in a format: yyyymmdd.d, time of perihelion passage in a format of yyyymmdd.dddddd.
data set of C/2009 F4

Figure caption: Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of original swarm (5001 VCs) of C/2009 F4. 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) 17050722
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20111231.919769 ± 0.000207
perihelion distance 5.45170706 ± 0.00000064
eccentricity 0.99977426 ± 0.00000140
argument of perihelion [deg] 260.451489 ± 0.000015
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 53.538709 ± 0.000004
inclination [deg] 79.343265 ± 0.000007
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] 41.41 ± 0.26

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/2009 F4

Figure caption: Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of future swarm (5001 VCs) of C/2009 F4. 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) 23190306
time of perihelion passage (TT) 20120101.679954 ± 0.000213
perihelion distance 5.45148748 ± 0.00000074
eccentricity 0.99942994 ± 0.00000139
argument of perihelion [deg] 260.353831 ± 0.000015
longitude of the ascending node [deg] 53.555152 ± 0.000004
inclination [deg] 79.352452 ± 0.000007
inverse semimajor axis [10-6 au-1] 104.57 ± 0.26


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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