C/2015 G2 (MASTER)
Hyperbolic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).[2] It was the first comet discovered from South Africa in 35 years.[3]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | MASTER |
| Discovery date | 7 April 2015 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 21 April 2015 (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 | 23 May 2015 |
| Next perihelion | Ejection |
| Physical characteristics[1] | |
| Dimensions | 1.8–2.2 km (1.1–1.4 mi) |
Mean diameter | 2.0 km (1.2 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 11.6±1.0 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.5±0.9 |
| 6.0 (2015 apparition) | |
Discovery was confirmed April 10, 2015 by the Minor Planet Center.[3] It was at magnitude 10.7 at discovery and by mid-May it had reached magnitude 6.0.[4]
