75D/Kohoutek

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Jupiter-family Comet
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (4.60 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

75D/Kohoutek is a mid-sized comet whose orbit features a relatively short period, low inclination, and is controlled by Jupiter's gravitational effects. NASA JPL has not classified 75D/Kohoutek as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

75D/Kohoutek orbits the sun every 2,440 days (6.68 years), coming as close as 1.78 AU and reaching as far as 5.30 AU from the sun. 75D/Kohoutek is about 4.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

75D/Kohoutek's orbit is 0.80 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

75D/Kohoutek's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 9, 1975. It was last officially observed on March 16, 1988. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 81 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This comet is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 75D/Kohoutek:

• 721 Tabora (A911 UM)
• 909 Ulla (A919 CA)
• 1574 Meyer (1949 FD)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 75D/Kohoutek is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 75D/Kohoutek to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.