129P/Shoemaker–Levy
< 129P
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3 (bottom) by Spitzer Space Telescope | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carolyn S. Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker David H. Levy |
| Discovery date | February 7, 1991 |
| Designations | |
| 1990 XXVII; 1996 U1 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 4.676 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.807 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.741 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.2497 |
| Orbital period | 7.237 a |
| Inclination | 5.0108° |
| Last perihelion | 2022-Nov-30 February 11, 2014 June 5, 2005 |
| Next perihelion | 2031-Nov-05 |
129P/Shoemaker–Levy, also known as Shoemaker–Levy 3, is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It fits the definition of an Encke-type comet with (TJupiter > 3; a < aJupiter), and is a quasi-Hilda comet.
This comet should not be confused with Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (D/1993 F2), which spectacularly crashed into Jupiter in 1994.
The nucleus of the comet is estimated to have a radius of 1.22 ± 0.1 km based on infrared imaging by the Spitzer Space Telescope.