138P/Shoemaker–Levy

For other comets discovered by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker, and David H. Levy, see Comet Shoemaker and Comet Levy.

138P/Shoemaker–Levy, also known as Shoemaker–Levy 7, is a faint periodic comet in the Solar System. The comet came to perihelion on 11 June 2012,^[2] but only brightened to about apparent magnitude 20.5.^[3]

138P/Shoemaker–Levy

Discovery
Discovered by	Carolyn S. Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker David H. Levy
Discovery date	November 13, 1991
Designations
Alternative designations	1991 XIX; 1998 O1
Orbital characteristics
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	5.548 AU
Perihelion	1.707 AU
Semi-major axis	3.628 AU
Eccentricity	0.5294
Orbital period	6.91 a
Inclination	10.0797°
Last perihelion	May 2, 2019[1] June 11, 2012[2] July 19, 2005
Next perihelion	2026-Mar-24[1]

There were 4 recovery images of 138P on 8 August 2018 by Pan-STARRS when the comet had a magnitude of about 21.5.^[1] The comet came to perihelion on 2 May 2019, and the next perihelion is 24 March, 2026.^[4]

This comet should not be confused with Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (D/1993 F2), which crashed into Jupiter in 1994.