402P/LINEAR (0402P)

TRY AGAIN 2038

Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 14 December 2021 Perihelion distance (q): 3.9 Aphelion distance (Q) : 10.1 Period (years): 18.6 Eccentricity (e): 0.44 Inclination (i): 30.9 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve 402P/LINEAR = 2002 T5 = 2020 Q3 An apparently asteroidal object of mag 18.4 reported by LINEAR on 5 October 2002, posted on the NEO Confirmation Page due to unusual motion, was found to be cometary in appearance. Erwin Schwab recovered the comet in images taken with the 0.8-m f/3 Schmidt reflector at Calar Alto, Spain on 18 August 2020, 5' from the expected position. The comet should have been numbered 403 if given in sequential order. Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 10-Jan-21 17.5 0.4 11-Feb-21 17.2 0.4 10-Sep-21 17.0 0.4 14-Sep-21 17.91 0.07 17.7 0.4 20-Feb-23 17.4 0.6 12-Mar-23 18.3 0.4 23-Mar-23 18.0 0.4