P/2003 T12 is a periodic comet that revolves around the Sun once every 4.11 years.[2] On January 13, 2012, it was observed by the satellite STEREO-B, and the most documented phase of P/2003 T12 was observed on that date. It is theorized to be a possible fragment of comet 169P/NEAT.[3]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | SOHO |
| Discovery date | 10 October 2003 |
| Designations | |
| P/2003 T12 P/2012 A3 | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch | 25 May 2012 (JD 2456072.5) |
| Observation arc | 4,592 days (12.57 years) |
| Number of observations | 491 |
| Aphelion | 4.5612 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.5748 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 2.568 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.77617 |
| Orbital period | 4.1153 years |
| Inclination | 11.4752° |
| 176.466° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 217.669° |
| Last perihelion | 3 July 2024[1] |
| Next perihelion | 2028 |
| TJupiter | 2.894 |
| Earth MOID | 0.1547 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.0191 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 19.6 |
| 8.5 (2012 apparition) | |
January 12, 2012 event
editDuring its apparition on January 12, 2012, it ventured into the highest phase angle ever observed for a comet, and the forward-scattering enhancement in brightness was marked, as large as ~8.5 mag. This has given insight into Henyey-Greenstein (HG) space-dust.[4]
References
edit- ^ S. Yoshida. "P/2003 T12 = P/2012 A3 (SOHO)". aerith.net. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ a b "P/2003 T12 (SOHO) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ S. R. Alvarez; A. S. Oyarzabal (2024). "Comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO): A possible fragment of comet 169P/NEAT?". Planetary and Space Science. 246. Bibcode:2024P&SS..24605902A. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2024.105902.
- ^ M. T. Hui (2013). "Observations of Comet P/2003 T12 = 2012 A3 (SOHO) at large phase angle in STEREO-B". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 436 (2): 1564–1575. Bibcode:2013MNRAS.436.1564H. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt1683. ISSN 0035-8711.