AstroGrav Help /Sample Simulations /Solar System /Comets /39P (Oterma)Version 5.1

39P (Oterma)

This simulation shows Comet 39P (Oterma), which has been calculated to have several close encounters with Jupiter and Saturn in both the past and the future. These close encounters are as follows.

Jupiter - 27th October 1937 at a distance of 0.165 AU
Jupiter - 12th April 1963 at a distance of 0.095 AU
Saturn - 3rd June 2011 at a distance of 1.01 AU
Jupiter - 12th July 2023 at a distance of 1.17 AU
Jupiter - 15th January 2025 at a distance of 0.89 AU

If you run the simulation forward, you can watch the comet having close encounters with Saturn in 2011 and with Jupiter in 2023 and 2025.

If you run the simulation backward, you can watch the comet having close encounters with Jupiter in 1963 and 1937.

Since different computers run at different speeds, you may need to edit the evolution time step to get the simulation to run at an acceptable rate.

You can find out more about Comet 39P (Oterma) from the following website:

http://cometography.com/pcomets/039p.html