C/2018 V1 (Machholz–Fujikawa–Iwamoto)

Not to be confused with C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto).

C/2018 V1 (Machholz–Fujikawa–Iwamoto) is a comet that follows a slightly hyperbolic trajectory. It was visually discovered on 7 November 2018 by Donald Machholz using an 18.5-inch reflecting telescope,^[3][4] and was independently co-discovered by Shigehisa Fujikawa and Masayuki Iwamoto respectively. It reached perihelion on 3 December 2018.

C/2018 V1 (Machholz–Fujikawa–Iwamoto)

Path of the comet C/2018 V1 across the sky, with a 7-day motion shown
Discovery
Discovered by	Donald Machholz Shigehisa Fujikawa Masayuki Iwamoto
Discovery site	Colfax, California Japan
Discovery date	7 November 2018
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch	16 November 2018 (JD 2458438.5)
Observation arc	37 days
Number of observations	750
Perihelion	0.387 AU
Eccentricity	1.00039
Inclination	143.988°
Longitude of ascending node	128.722°
Argument of periapsis	88.775°
Last perihelion	3 December 2018
TJupiter	–0.624
Earth MOID	0.115 AU
Jupiter MOID	2.567 AU
Physical characteristics[2]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	12.8
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	17.1
Apparent magnitude	7.5 (2018 apparition)

Overview

It was estimated to be between 8 and 10th magnitude from mid-November to mid-December 2018, visible in a small telescope. It was discovered by three amateur astronomers: by an observer in Colfax, California, USA and by two observers in Japan.^[5] The observations by three astronomers result in the name for the comet, Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto.^[3][6] The current orbit determination of this comet is based on 750 observations with a 37-day observation arc.^[1]

Comet C/2018 V1 has a significant probability (72.6%) of having an extrasolar provenance although an origin in the Oort Cloud cannot be excluded.^[7] As the present-day value of its barycentric orbital eccentricity is greater than 1, this comet is currently escaping from the Solar System, aiming for interstellar space.^[7]

• 
  Perihelion in early December 2018, above the orbit of Mercury
• 
  Animation of C/2018 V1's orbit
    Sun ·   Mercury  ·   Venus ·   Earth ·   Mars ·   C/2018 V1

See also

• List of parabolic comets
• 72P/Denning–Fujikawa
• C/1983 J1 (Sugano–Saigusa–Fujikawa)