C/2014 Q3 (Borisov)

For other comets discovered by Gennadiy Borisov, see List of comets discovered by Gennadiy Borisov.

C/2014 Q3 (Borisov) is a periodic comet discovered at apparent magnitude 17 on 22 August 2014 by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov using a 0.3 m (12 in) astrograph.^[1] It is the third comet discovered by Borisov. The comet was best viewed from the northern hemisphere.

C/2014 Q3 (Borisov)

Comet Borisov photographed by NEOWISE on 27 November 2014
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Gennadiy Borisov
Discovery site	MARGO, Ukraine (L51)
Discovery date	22 August 2014
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch	19 October 2014 (JD 2456949.5)
Observation arc	189 days
Number of observations	766
Aphelion	55.222 AU
Perihelion	1.647 AU
Semi-major axis	28.434 AU
Eccentricity	0.94196
Orbital period	148 years (inbound) 146 years (outbound)
Inclination	89.949°
Longitude of ascending node	63.129°
Argument of periapsis	47.381°
Mean anomaly	359.79°
Last perihelion	19 November 2014[4]
Next perihelion	~2160
TJupiter	0.184
Earth MOID	0.866 AU
Jupiter MOID	1.354 AU
Comet total magnitude (M1)	8.8
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	15.2

The comet was expected to reach about magnitude ~11 near perihelion (closest approach to the Sun), but brightened to around magnitude 10.^[5] By 8 November 2014, the comet had a declination of +83 and was circumpolar from the northern hemisphere.^[6] The comet came to perihelion on 19 November 2014 at a distance of 1.65 AU (247 million km) from the Sun.^[4]

Orbit

Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2014 Q3 had an orbital period of 148 years.^[2] After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it has an orbital period of 146 years.^[2]

See also

• List of Halley-type comets
• 2I/Borisov