168P/Hergenrother is a periodic comet in the Solar System. The comet originally named P/1998 W2 returned in 2005 and got the temporary name P/2005 N2. The comet was last observed in January 2020, and may have continued fragmenting after the 2012 outburst. 2012 outburst The comet came to perihelion on 1 October 2012, and was expected to reach about apparent magnitude 15.2, but due to an outburst the comet reached apparent magnitude 8. As a result of the outburst of gas and dust, the comet was briefly more than 500 times brighter than it would have been without the outburst. On 19 October 2012, images by the Virtual Telescope Project showed a dust cloud trailing the nucleus. Images by the Faulkes Telescope North on 26 October 2012 confirm a fragmentation event. The secondary fragment was about magnitude 17. Further observations by the Gemini telescope show that the comet fragmented into at least four parts. 2019 168P came to perihelion on August 5, 2019, when it was 76 degrees from the Sun. It then made a closest approach to Earth on 6 November 2019 when it was from Earth with a solar elongation of about 110 degrees. It was not recovered until January 3, 2020 when it was 141 degrees from the Sun, but only two observations on a single night were reported. References External links Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris 168P on Seiichi Yoshida's comet list Elements and Ephemeris for 168P/Hergenrother – Minor Planet Center 168P at Kronk's Cometography Comet 168P Hergenrother in outburst (Google+ chat archive Oct 12, 2012) Comet Hergenrother in Outburst (Carl Hergenrother : 20 Oct 2012) Comet 168P and fragment as seen by Kitt Peak WIYN on 30 Oct 2012 Scientists Monitor Comet Breakup (168P-Hergenrother was imaged by the NOAO/Gemini telescope Nov. 2, 2012) Temporal Correlation Between Outbursts and Fragmentation Events of Comet 168P/Hergenrother (arXiv:1409.7641 : 26 Sep 2014) Periodic comets 0168 Comets in 2019 Split comets