C/2003 A2 (Gleason)

C/2003 A2 (Gleason) is a hyperbolic comet discovered on January 10, 2002 by Arianna E. Gleason of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory using the Spacewatch II telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.[1] It has a heliocentric semimajor axis of -1641 AU (indicating its hyperbolic orbit) and reached its perihelion of 11.43 AU on November 4, 2003.[2] C/2003 A2 (Gleason) was the first comet discovered with a perihelion beyond 10 AU.[3]

C/2003 A2

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Arianna E. Gleason
Discovery site	Kitt Peak National Observatory
Discovery date	10 January 2002
Designations
MPC designation	C/2003 A2
Minor planet category	comet
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 09 May 2003
Observation arc	1178 days (3.23 yr)
Perihelion	11.42731 AU
Eccentricity	1.00696
Mean anomaly	−0.0026585°
Inclination	8.06155°
Longitude of ascending node	154.5447°
Argument of perihelion	346.6108°
Physical characteristics
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.1 (total)[2]

References

1. "IAUC 8049: C/2003 A2; 2003I; 2003H". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
2. "C/2003 A2 (Gleason)". JPL Small-Body Database Browser. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
3. Fernandez, Yan. "List of Jupiter-Family and Halley-Family Comets". Retrieved 1 June 2019.