138P/Shoemaker–Levy
< 138P
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carolyn S. Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker David H. Levy |
| Discovery date | November 13, 1991 |
| Designations | |
| 1991 XIX; 1998 O1 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 5.548 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.707 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.628 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.5294 |
| Orbital period | 6.91 a |
| Inclination | 10.0797° |
| Last perihelion | May 2, 2019 June 11, 2012 July 19, 2005 |
| Next perihelion | 2026-Mar-24 |
138P/Shoemaker–Levy, also known as Shoemaker–Levy 7, is a faint periodic comet in the Solar System. The comet came to perihelion on 11 June 2012, but only brightened to about apparent magnitude 20.5.
There were 4 recovery images of 138P on 8 August 2018 by Pan-STARRS when the comet had a magnitude of about 21.5. The comet came to perihelion on 2 May 2019, and the next perihelion is 24 March, 2026.
This comet should not be confused with Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (D/1993 F2), which crashed into Jupiter in 1994.