68P/Klemola (0068P)

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Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 9 November 2019 Perihelion distance (q): 1.8 Aphelion distance (Q) : 8.1 Period (years): 11.0 Eccentricity (e): 0.64 Inclination (i): 11.1 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve While examining photographs exposed with the 20-inch double astrograph at the Yale-Columbia Southern Station in Argentina, Arnold R. Klemola found a moving object of 17th magnitude. The first photograph had been exposed on 28 October 1965. Klemola described the comet as "slightly nebulous" with a diameter near 12 arc seconds. Following the acquisition of additional images, Marsden computed the first elliptical orbit just 8 days later, indicating a perihelion date of 25 August, while the orbital period was 18.8 years. After all of the observations had been accumulated, Marsden revised his elliptical orbit during 1967 and determined the perihelion date as 18 August and the period as 10.97 years, with an uncertainty of two months in the period. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 01-May-19 17.62 0.01 17.5 0.2 28-May-19 16.34 0.02 15.6 0.4 06-Jun-19 15.89 0.01 15.2 0.4 24-Jun-19 15.46 0.01 14.6 0.5 02-Jul-19 15.24 0.01 13.7 0.7 01-Oct-19 15.32 0.06 13.7 0.7 13-Dec-19 15.90 0.06 13.2 0.9