C/2019 O3 (Palomar)

C/2019 O3 (Palomar)
Discovery[1]
Discovery sitePalomar Observatory
Discovery date26 July 2019
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch22 March 2022 (JD 2459660.5)
Observation arc5.71 years
Earliest precovery date14 May 2019
Number of
observations
2,138
Aphelion~58,000 AU (inbound)
~14,000 AU (outbound)
Perihelion8.820 AU
Semi-major axis~29,000 AU (inbound)
~7,000 AU (outbound)
Eccentricity0.99969 (inbound)
0.99874 (outbound)
Orbital period~4.9 million years (inbound)
~590,000 years (outbound)
Inclination89.819°
300.39°
Argument of
periapsis
60.096°
Mean anomaly0.0031°
Last perihelion8 March 2021
Earth MOID8.273 AU
Jupiter MOID5.492 AU
Physical characteristics[6]
Mean radius
>7.9 km (4.9 mi)[4]
  • (B−V) = 0.75±0.03
  • (V−R) = 0.47±0.03
  • (V−I) = 0.94±0.09
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
6.1[3]
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
8.0[3]
13.6
(2021 apparition)[5]

C/2019 O3 (Palomar) is a distant Oort cloud comet that came to perihelion on 8 March 2021 at a distance of 8.82 AU (1.319 billion km) from the Sun. It is discovered from the Palomar Observatory in July 2019, and is one of eight comets named after it.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Q. Z. Ye; F. J. Masci; R. Haver; et al. (July 2019). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet C/2019 O3 (Palomar)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4817: 1. Bibcode:2020CBET.4817....1Y.
  2. ^ Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for Comet Lemmon (C/2019 O3)". Retrieved 1 December 2025. (Solution using the Solar System's barycenter (Sun+Jupiter). Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
  3. ^ a b c "C/2019 O3 (Palomar) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  4. ^ A. S. Betzler (2024). "A Study of the Comets with Large Perihelion Distances C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) and C/2019 O3 (Palomar)". Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 24 (9). Bibcode:2024RAA....24i5018B. doi:10.1088/1674-4527/ad7079.
  5. ^ "Observation list for C/2019 O3". COBS – Comet OBServation database. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  6. ^ T. Hromakina; I. Belskaya; Y. Krugly; et al. (2021). "Small Solar System objects on highly inclined orbits. Surface colours and lifetimes" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 647 (A71): 1–14. arXiv:2101.04541. Bibcode:2021A&A...647A..71H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039737.