Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovery date | 2015/04/07 |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch | 2015-Apr-21 (JD 2457133.5) |
Observation arc | 54 days |
Number of observations | 230 |
Perihelion | 0.779879 AU |
Eccentricity | 1.00045 (1950) 1.00085 (2015) 1.00078 (2050) |
Inclination | 147.5613° |
Last perihelion | May 23, 2015 |
Next perihelion | Ejection |
Comet total magnitude (M1) | 11.6 ± 1 |
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.5 ± 0.9 |
C/2015 G2 (MASTER) is a comet discovered April 7, 2015 by MASTER, the Mobile Astronomical System of the Telescope-Robots at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO).[1] It was the first comet discovered from South Africa in 35 years.[2]
Discovery was confirmed April 10, 2015 by the Minor Planet Center.[2] It was at magnitude 10.7 at discovery and by mid-May it had reached magnitude 6.0.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Yoshida, Seiichi. "C/2015 G2 (MASTER)". Weekly Information about Bright Comets. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ a b "C/2015 G2 (MASTER) is first South African Comet discovery in 35 years". Africa2Moon. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Yoshida, Seiichi. "Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2015 May 16: North)". Weekly Information About Bright Comets. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.