96P/Machholz

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**96P/Machholz**
Discovery

Discovered by:	Donald Machholz
Discovery date:	1986
Alternate designations:	96P, Machholz, Machholz 1, 1986 J2, 1991 XII, 1986e, 1986 VII
Orbital characteristics ^A
Epoch:	2452480.5 (July 25, 2002)
Aphelion distance:	5.90347497 AU
Perihelion distance:	0.12412874529142 AU
Semi-major axis:	3.0138018588805 AU
Eccentricity:	0.958813236203415
Orbital period:	5.2322 a
Inclination:	60.1813131789455°
Last perihelion:	April 3, 2007
Next perihelion:	June 26, 2012 ^[1]

Comet 96P is a periodic comet discovered in 1986 by Donald Machholz. It entered SOHO's field of view in 2002, seen in both LASCO C2 and C3. On April 3, 2007, it reached perihelion, and at a predicted magnitude 2, it could have been clearly visible to the unaided eye, although there was difficulty in observing it, as the passage brought it very close to the sun. It may have been visible very early in the morning. It entered SOHO's LASCO C3's field of view early April, from April 2 to April 6, peaking in brightness on April 4 ^[2]. Its coma was substantially smaller than the sun in volume, seen in SOHO.