Lovejoy
A Kreutz sungrazing comet that unexpectedly survived a passage through the Sun's corona in December 2011, emerging to display a bright tail.
Imagery
NEOWISE Wise to Comet Lovejoy
NASA NEOWISE spacecraft viewed comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy for a second time on January 30, 2015, as the comet passed through the closest point to our sun along its 14,000-year orbit, at a solar distance of 120 million mile…
2015
NASA/JPL-Caltech · NASA media (public domain)
Orbit & physical parameters
Osculating orbit and physical parameters from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database · Comet · epoch 2011-12-06 (JD 2455901.5 TDB) · Earth MOID 0.490179 au
| Semi-major axis | 78.68294 ± 0.24975 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Eccentricity | 0.999929 ± 2.2360e-7 | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Perihelion distance | 0.005554 ± 1.0909e-7 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Aphelion distance | 157.360325 ± 0.49948 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Inclination | 134.355811 ± 0.001804 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Longitude of ascending node | 326.369147 ± 0.004188 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Argument of perihelion | 53.509212 ± 0.003066 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Orbital period | 254,929 ± 1,214 d | NASA JPL · calculated |
Full field-level provenance
- Semi-major axis: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · a · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Eccentricity: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · e · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Perihelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · q · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Aphelion distance: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · ad · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Inclination: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · i · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Longitude of ascending node: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · om · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Argument of perihelion: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · w · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Orbital period: Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics · JPL SBDB · orbit.elements · per · JPL orbit determination (least-squares fit to the observation arc) · calculated · JPL solution by Paul W. Chodas, 123 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
Orbital elements are a calculated JPL orbit-determination fit, all referred to the single osculating epoch above (solution by Paul W. Chodas); each carries its own uncertainty. Fields the database did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Classification & origin
Knowledge connections
- Member of familyKreutz Sungrazers
- Member of groupSungrazing Comets
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.