Comet C / 2011 W3 (Lovejoy) is a periodic comet of the Kreutz group , which was discovered on November 27, 2011 by astronomer Terry Lovejoy from Australia . At the time of discovery, its diameter was estimated at 100-200 meters , which is about 10 times more than other comets of the Kreutz group . After the comet hit the solar corona , having flown 120,000 km above the surface, it reappeared, which meant its larger diameter - about 500 m, which is why it could survive after such an approach to the Sun. Since it was discovered and could be observed from Earth during the period of Christmas celebrated in the Western world, it was called The Great Christmas Comet of 2011 [1] . The comet got another name in connection with the 16th anniversary of the successful launch of SOHO - “ The Great Birthday Comet of 2011 ”.
| C / 2011 W3 (Lovejoy) |
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Comet C / 2011 W3 (Lovejoy) photographed by Dan Burbank from the ISS on December 21, 2011 |
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| Discoverer | Terry Lovejoy |
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| opening date | November 27, 2011 |
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| Age 2455900.5 |
| Eccentricity | 0,99992735 |
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| Semimajor axis ( a ) | 76.4729576 a. e. |
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| Perihelion ( q ) | 0.0055555 a. e. |
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| Aphelion ( Q ) | 152.94 a. e. |
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| Circulation Period ( P ) | 666.5 ± 9 a |
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| Orbital inclination | 134,4089996 |
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| Last perihelion | December 16, 2011 |
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| Next perihelion | 2680 |
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Thanks to the passage of the comet through the heliosphere on December 15, 2011, scientists were able to obtain new data on the magnetic field of the Sun [2] .
