118P/Shoemaker–Levy

118P/Shoemaker–Levy (also known as Shoemaker–Levy 4) is a Jupiter-family comet discovered by astronomers Carolyn and Eugene M. Shoemaker and David Levy.^[1]

Discoveredby

• Carolyn S. Shoemaker
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker
• David H. Levy

Discoverydate9 February 1991

MPCdesignation

P/1991 C2, P/1995 M1

Alternative designations

Shoemaker–Levy 4
1990 XII, 1991f

Quick facts Discovery, Discovered by ...

118P/Shoemaker–Levy

Comet Shoemaker–Levy 4 photographed on 5 March 2010
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Carolyn S. Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker David H. Levy
Discovery date	9 February 1991
Designations
MPC designation	P/1991 C2, P/1995 M1
Alternative designations	Shoemaker–Levy 4 1990 XII, 1991f
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch	21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc	34.31 years
Number of observations	4,088
Aphelion	4.869 AU
Perihelion	1.829 AU
Semi-major axis	3.349 AU
Eccentricity	0.45380
Orbital period	6.129 years
Inclination	10.093°
Longitude of ascending node	142.05°
Argument of periapsis	314.97°
Mean anomaly	175.62°
Last perihelion	24 November 2022
Next perihelion	11 January 2029
TJupiter	2.957
Earth MOID	0.865 AU
Jupiter MOID	0.614 AU
Physical characteristics[2]
Mean radius	2.61 km (1.62 mi)[4]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	12.4
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	14.8

Close

During the 2010 apparition the comet became as bright as apparent magnitude 11.5.^[5]

On 3 December 2015, comet Shoemaker–Levy 4 passed 0.0442 AU (6.61 million km; 4.11 million mi) from asteroid 4 Vesta.^[2]

This comet should not be confused with Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (D/1993 F2) which spectacularly crashed into Jupiter in 1994.