318P/McNaught-Hartley (0318P)

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Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 24 October 2015 Perihelion distance (q): 2.4 Aphelion distance (Q) : 12.6 Period (years): 20.5 Eccentricity (e): 0.68 Inclination (i): 17.9 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve Malcolm Hartley took a 110 minute exposure on 6 July 1994 with the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring and found a 16th magnitude comet, which was also present on a plate taken the night before. The comet was approaching opposition and nearly stationary on the border of Grus and Microscopium. It proved to be a relatively distant short period comet with a period of 21 years and a perihelion distance of 2.5 au. Aphelion is beyond the orbit of Saturn and there have been no recent approaches to it or Jupiter. 1994 N2 (P/McNaught-Hartley) was recovered by PanSTARRS in images taken with the 1.8m Ritchey-Chretien on 29 June 2014, though it took further images taken at the MASTER-SAAO Observatory, Sutherland with the 0.4m reflector on 31 March 2015 to confirm the recovery. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 22-Jul-15 16.13 0.05 14.8 0.3 08-Aug-15 15.82 0.01 14.2 0.3 15-Aug-15 15.85 0.02 13.9 0.3 22-Aug-15 15.82 0.03 14.2 0.3 04-Sep-15 15.63 0.03 13.4 0.3 16-Sep-15 15.88 0.01 13.8 0.5 07-Oct-15 15.99 0.03 13.0 0.7 18-Oct-15 16.23 0.02 13.1 0.3 19-Oct-15 16.25 0.02 13.3 0.3 30-Oct-15 16.56 0.03 13.0 0.2 08-Nov-15 16.71 0.05 13.1 0.2 11-Dec-15 17.41 0.03 15.3 0.2