C/2002 X5 (Kudo–Fujikawa)

Comet Kudo–Fujikawa, formally designated as C/2002 X5, is a non-periodic comet that was visible through binoculars on January 2003. It was discovered by two Japanese astronomers, Tetuo Kudo and Shigehisa Fujikawa.

C/2002 X5 (Kudo–Fujikawa)

Discovery[1][2]
Discovered by	Tetuo Kudo Shigehisa Fujikawa
Discovery site	Japan
Discovery date	13–14 December 2002
Designations
Alternative designations	CK02X050[3]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch	20 January 2003 (JD 2452659.5)
Observation arc	129 days
Earliest precovery date	6 November 2002
Number of observations	514
Aphelion	~2,390 AU
Perihelion	0.189 AU
Semi-major axis	~1,200 AU
Eccentricity	0.99984
Orbital period	~41,200 years
Inclination	94.152°
Longitude of ascending node	119.07°
Argument of periapsis	187.58°
Mean anomaly	359.99°
Last perihelion	29 January 2003
TJupiter	–0.035
Earth MOID	0.741 AU
Jupiter MOID	1.343 AU
Physical characteristics[5][6]
Dimensions	3.4–4.0 km (2.1–2.5 mi)
Mean diameter	2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Comet total magnitude (M1)	10.6
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	14.9
Apparent magnitude	4.2 (2003 apparition)

Discovery and observations

Tetuo Kudo was the first person to spot the comet when he located it using a pair of 20x135 binoculars on 13 December 2002.^[1] The following day, Shigehisa Fujikawa made his independent discovery a day later, marking his sixth overall comet discovery since 1969.^[2] At the time of its discovery, the comet was a 9th-magnitude object within the constellation Böotes.^[7] Since then, Terry Lovejoy found precovery images that were taken by the SWAN instrument aboard the SOHO spacecraft between 6 and 13 November 2002.^[7]

Brian G. Marsden provided the first orbital calculations for the comet on 15 December 2002, where it was initially predicted to reach perihelion on 24 January 2003.^[3] Its perihelion date was later revised to 29 January.^[8] Between 25 January and 1 February 2003, the comet is within view of the LASCO C3 camera aboard the SOHO spacecraft,^[9] allowing measurements of its C₂/CN compound ratio emitted to be conducted.^[10]