McNaught
The 'Great Comet of 2007', the brightest comet in decades, whose vast fanned dust tail was a spectacular sight from the Southern Hemisphere.
Imagery
Suicide Comet HD Video
Captured March 12, 2010 The SOHO spacecraft captured a very bright, sungrazing comet as it rocketed towards the Sun (Mar.
2017
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)
Orbit & physical parameters
Osculating orbit and physical parameters from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database · Hyperbolic Comet · epoch 2006-11-26 (JD 2454065.5 TDB) · Earth MOID 0.409406 au
| Semi-major axis | -9,074 ± 487.11 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Eccentricity | 1.000019 ± 1.0100e-6 | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Perihelion distance | 0.170736 ± 7.2901e-7 au | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Inclination | 77.837001 ± 7.5431e-5 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Longitude of ascending node | 267.414803 ± 4.5489e-5 deg | NASA JPL · calculated |
| Argument of perihelion | 155.974968 ± 2.4361e-5 deg | 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 Otto Matic, 331 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 Otto Matic, 331 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 Otto Matic, 331 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 Otto Matic, 331 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 Otto Matic, 331 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 Otto Matic, 331 obs · retrieved 2026-07-11
Orbital elements are a calculated JPL orbit-determination fit, all referred to the single osculating epoch above (solution by Otto Matic); each carries its own uncertainty. This is an unbound (hyperbolic) orbit: eccentricity ≥ 1, a negative semi-major axis and no aphelion. Fields the database did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Classification & origin
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupLong-Period Comets
- Source reservoirOort Cloud
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.