315P/LONEOS (0315P)

TRY AGAIN 2026

Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 16 November 2027 Perihelion distance (q): 2.4 Aphelion distance (Q) : 7.5 Period (years): 11.0 Eccentricity (e): 0.52 Inclination (i): 17.7 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve Atlas An apparently asteroidal 18th magnitude object discovered by LONEOS on 3 November 2004 and shown in the list of unusual asteroids, was found to be cometary by other observers. An apparently asteroidal object discovered by LONEOS, designated 2004 VR_8 was found to show a 10"-diameter coma and a tail 16" long in p.a. 140 deg on R-band CCD observations taken by C. W. Hergenrother (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory) with the 1.54-m Kuiper reflector at Catalina on 19 November 2004. Also, A. Nakamura (Kuma, Ehime, Japan) reports that 240-s unfiltered CCD frames taken with a 0.60-m reflector on 8 and 9 December shows the object's image to be slightly 'softer' than other field stars of similar brightness, and a possible very faint tail is visible to the southeast. A possible recovery of 2004 VR8 (P/LONEOS) with the 3.5m Apache Point reflector on 6 November 2013 was confirmed with the same telescope on 8 December 2014. The comet approaches Jupiter every few orbits, most recently on 22 August 2007 when it passed 0.40 au from the planet. The encounter made small changes to the orbital elements and increased the orbital period to 11.2 years. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 28-Dec-16 16.29 0.04 14.6 0.6 09-Jan-17 16.09 0.05 13.5 0.4 21-Feb-17 16.02 0.01 14.5 0.6 01-Mar-17 15.91 0.03 12.8 0.5 20-Mar-17 15.63 0.01 13.6 1.2 02-Apr-17 16.09 0.03 14.2 0.5 18-Apr-17 16.58 0.05 13.7 0.5 01-May-17 16.91 0.01 14.4 0.5 28-May-17 17.51 0.08 14.5 0.4