C/1999 N4 | CODEC

C/1999 N4 LINEAR

C/1999 N4 was discovered as an apparently asteroidal object by LINEAR team on 12 July 1999 (ten months before perihelion passage), and soon reported as cometary by observers [IAUC 7226, 1999 July 17]. Later, pre-discovery detection from 27 August 1998 by LINEAR was found.

This comet made its closest approach to the Earth on 4 June 2000 (4.589 au), twelve days after perihelion.

Solutions given here are based on data spanning over 3.7 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 7.14 au – 5.505 au (perihelion) – 7.49 au.

NG orbit is possible to obtained using the full data arc; however uncertainties of NG parameters are notable, especially for A₂ (see solutions ac and bc differing only in data weighting).

This Oort spike comet suffered slight planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system.

See also Królikowska and Dones 2023, Królikowska and Dybczyński 2017,and Królikowska 2014.

1999n4a5 1999n4ac 1999n4ba 1999n4bc 1999n4pa 1999n4ra

solution description
number of observations	345
data interval	1998 08 27 – 2002 05 06
data type	perihelion within the observation arc (FULL)
data arc selection	entire data set (STD)
range of heliocentric distances	7.14 au – 5.50 au (perihelion) – 7.49 au
detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion	comet with determinable NG~orbit
type of model of motion	GR - gravitational orbit
data weighting	YES
number of residuals	661
RMS [arcseconds]	0.53
orbit quality class	1a

next orbit statistics, both Galactic and stellar perturbations were taken into account
no. of returning VCs in the swarm	5001	*
no. of escaping VCs in the swarm	0
no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm	0
next reciprocal semi-major axis [10^-6 au^-1]	24.10 – 25.73 – 26.88
next perihelion distance [au]	49 – 60 – 85
next aphelion distance [10³ au]	74.4 – 77.7 – 82.9
time interval to next perihelion [Myr]	6.73 – 7.45 – 8.31
percentage of VCs with q_next > 20	100

Upper panel: Time distribution of positional observations with corresponding heliocentric (red curve) and geocentric (green curve) distance at which they were taken. The horizontal dotted line shows the perihelion distance for a given comet whereas vertical dotted line — the moment of perihelion passage.
Middle panel(s): O-C diagram for a given solution (sometimes in comparison to another solution available in CODE), where residuals in right ascension are shown using magenta dots and in declination by blue open circles.
Lowest panel: Relative weights for a given data set(s).

next orbit statistics, here only the Galactic tide has been included
no. of returning VCs in the swarm	5001	*
no. of escaping VCs in the swarm	0
no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm	0
next reciprocal semi-major axis [10^-6 au^-1]	24.46 – 26.32 – 28.17
next perihelion distance [au]	17 – 30 – 55
next aphelion distance [10³ au]	71 – 75.9 – 81.7
time interval to next perihelion [Myr]	6.65 – 7.36 – 8.2
percentage of VCs with q_next < 10	1
percentage of VCs with 10 < q_next < 20	17
percentage of VCs with q_next > 20	82