P/2026 R2 (Leonard)

P/2026 R2 (Leonard)
Discovery
Discovered byGregory J. Leonard
Discovery siteCatalina Sky Survey
(0.68-m Schmidt telescope)
Discovery date14 September 2026
Designations
C46K1R1
Orbital characteristics
Epoch24 September 2026 (JD 2461307.5)
Observation arc61 days
Earliest precovery date1 September 2026
Number of
observations		938
Aphelion14.809 AU
Perihelion0.789 AU
Semi-major axis7.799 AU
Eccentricity0.89877
Orbital period21.783 years
Inclination78.101°
179.23°
Argument of
periapsis		205.53°
Mean anomaly358.59°
Last perihelion25 October 2026
Next perihelion~30 May 2048
TJupiter0.888
Earth MOID0.172 AU
Jupiter MOID1.038 AU
Physical characteristics
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		18.9
11.9
(2026 apparition)

P/2026 R2 (Leonard) is a Halley-type comet with a 21.8-year orbit around the Sun. It passed perihelion on 25 October 2026 at a distance of 0.79 AU (118 million km; 73 million mi). It was initially left undesignated as a "new Catalina comet" until 7 October 2026.

Observational history

The comet was found on 14 September 2026 by Greg Leonard in CCD images taken using a 0.68 m (27 in) Schmidt telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. Precovery observations from the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) as early as 1 September 2026 were found by Sam Deen, however the imagery from the survey barely showed any cometary activity until at least 12 September 2026. At the time, the comet was a dim 18.2 magnitude object (G-band) which displayed a small, 10" wide coma and no tail.

On 2 October, the comet was reported to have a magnitude of 11.9, a 4 arcminutes wide coma and a 2 arcminutes long tail towards PA 73°. On 6 October 2026, it passed 0.316 AU (47.3 million km; 29.4 million mi) from Earth. By 13 October 2026, it had a declination of –30 significantly favoring viewing from the Southern hemisphere.

Notes

  1. ↑ Observation arc from the Minor Planet Center database covering dates from 1 September 2026 until 1 November 2026.

References

  1. ↑ M. Jaeger; G. Rhemann; K. Yoshimoto; et al. (7 October 2026). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2026 R2 Leonard = New Catalina Comet" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 5754: 1.
  2. 1 2 V. F. Carvajal; G. J. Leonard; C. J. Loewen; et al. (7 October 2026). "Comet P/2026 R2 (Leonard)". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. 2026-T126. Bibcode:2026MPEC....T..126C. doi:10.48377/MPEC/2026-T126. ISSN 1523-6714.
  3. 1 2 "P/2026 R2 (Leonard) – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 "P/2026 R2 (Leonard) Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
  5. ↑ "Horizons Batch for P/2026 R2 on 2048-May-30" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 8 November 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) (JPL#8 Soln.date: 2026-Nov-06)
  6. 1 2 3 M. Jaeger; S. Deen; W. Hasubick; et al. (30 September 2026). D. W. Green (ed.). "New Catalina Comet" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 5753: 1.
  7. ↑ M. Olason (13 October 2026). "Comet P/2026 R2 (Leonard) Moving Away from Earth". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
  8. ↑ Horizons