About C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson)
C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson) is an uncommon comet. It swings within 2.006 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
On a hyperbolic orbit: it is moving too fast for the Sun's gravity to hold on to it.
Uncommon comet 32 EP
C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson)
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 3 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Hyperbolic comet (one pass, then gone) +18
- Has a proper name +8
- Comet +6
Total score 32
2 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Comet · +6
- Has a proper name · +8
- Hyperbolic comet (one pass, then gone) · +18
Trivia
What it actually is
- Its orbit family. On a hyperbolic orbit: it is moving too fast for the Sun's gravity to hold on to it.
- Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 2.01 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Jupiter.
- One-way trip. On a hyperbolic path — it will leave the Solar System and never return.
Standing on it
- Sunlight there. Even at its closest the sunlight is only about 25% as strong as Earth's.
- Tail. Its tail always points away from the Sun, never trailing behind its motion — it is blown, not dragged.
By the numbers
- Made of. A comet is a dirty snowball: water ice, frozen carbon dioxide and dust, held together loosely enough that some simply crumble when the Sun warms them.
What's in a name
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Properties
- designation
- 1996 P2
- eccentricity
- 1.0001
- full name
- C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson)
- inclination
- 29.08
- mean motion deg day
- 0
- moid au
- 0.993
- name
- C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson)
- named
- yes
- orbit class
- HYP
- perihelion au
- 2.006
- semi major au
- -24010
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson) is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. Because it moves against the background stars, the live position panel on this page tracks where it is right now. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson) is an uncommon comet
C/1996 P2 (Russell-Watson) scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Comet, Has a proper name and Hyperbolic comet (one pass, then gone) — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.