Comet SWAN26Q – The unconfirmed Scout object warrants monitoring, not concern
4 hours ago
- SWAN26Q is an unconfirmed Near-Earth Object on the NEOCP, triaged by NASA's Scout system with no confirmed JPL orbit or Sentry evaluation.
- Current data shows a nominal distance of 15.567 LD from Earth, with a relative velocity of 56.70 km/s, based on 9 observations over a sparse 743-day arc.
- The object has an estimated diameter of 12–27 km (H=11.7), much larger than typical NEOs, and is flagged as PHA-class by Scout due to its size and modeled MOID of 0.04 au.
- Sampled orbits indicate a near-parabolic eccentricity (0.997–1.000) and retrograde inclination around 109°, suggesting a long-period comet rather than an asteroid.
- No Earth-impact signal is detected in 300 Monte Carlo orbit samples (0.0% impact flag), but the data is preliminary due to the object's solar elongation of only 14°.
- SWAN26Q requires continued monitoring as more observations become possible; its PHA-class flag is an automated screening, not a confirmed hazard.