P/2003 T12 (SOHO)
Periodic comet
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P/2003 T12 is a periodic comet that revolves around the Sun once every 4.11 years.[2] On 13 January 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 hypothesized to be a possible fragment of comet 169P/NEAT.[5]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | SOHO |
| Discovery date | 10 October 2003 |
| Designations | |
| P/2003 T12 P/2012 A3 | |
| SOHO-643[1] STEREO-42 | |
| 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[3] |
| Next perihelion | 2028 |
| TJupiter | 2.894 |
| Earth MOID | 0.1547 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.0191 AU |
| Physical characteristics[4] | |
Mean radius | <0.26 km (0.16 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 19.6 |
| 8.5 (2012 apparition) | |
12 January 2012 event
During its apparition on 12 January 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.[6]