C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)
< C
Comet Lovejoy photographed by Dan Burbank aboard the ISS, 21 December 2011 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Terry Lovejoy |
| Discovery site | Queensland, Australia |
| Discovery date | 27 November 2011 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 6 December 2011 (JD 2455901.5) |
| Observation arc | 40 days |
| Orbit type | Kreutz sungrazer |
| Aphelion | 157.36 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.0056 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 78.683 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.99993 |
| Orbital period | ~622 years (outbound) |
| Max. orbital speed | 565 km/s |
| Inclination | 134.36° |
| 326.37° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 53.509° |
| Mean anomaly | 359.99° |
| Last perihelion | 16 December 2011 |
| Next perihelion | ~2633? |
| TJupiter | 0.002 |
| Earth MOID | 0.490 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 0.2–7.7 km (0.12–4.78 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 15.3 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 20.6 |
| –4.0 (2011 apparition) | |
Comet Lovejoy, formally designated C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy), is a long-period comet and Kreutz sungrazer. It was discovered in November 2011 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy. The comet's perihelion took it through the Sun's corona on 16 December 2011, after which it emerged intact, though greatly impacted by the event.
As Comet Lovejoy was announced on the 16th anniversary of the SOHO satellite's launch it became known as "The Great Birthday Comet of 2011", and because it was visible from Earth during the Christmas holiday it was also nicknamed "The Great Christmas Comet of 2011". Lovejoy was retroactively dubbed the Great Comet of 2011.