C/2012 E2 (SWAN)

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C/2012 E2 (SWAN)
Discovery
Discovered bySOHO
Vladimir Bezugly
Discovery date8 March 2012
Orbital characteristics
Epoch13 March 2012 (JD 2455999.5)
Observation arc2 days
Number of
observations
43
Perihelion0.0069 AU
Semi-major axis–14.169 AU
Eccentricity1.0005
Inclination144.431°
6.576°
Argument of
periapsis
82.412°
Mean anomaly–0.037°
Last perihelion15 March 2012
Earth MOID0.543 AU
Jupiter MOID2.982 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
0.08–0.68 km (0.050–0.423 mi)
1.0
(2012 apparition)

Comet C/2012 E2 (SWAN) was a Kreutz group sungrazing comet discovered by Vladimir Bezugly in publicly available images taken by the SWAN instrument (Solar Wind ANisotropies) on board the SOHO spacecraft. It is recognized for being the first Kreutz sungrazer observed in SWAN imagery.