| C/1997 L1 (Zhu-Balam) | |
| Discoverer: | David D. Balam (June 8) and Jin Zhu (June 3) |
| Discovery Date: | June 3, 1997 |
| Epoch: | 1997-Aug-22 (JD 2450682.5) |
| Eccentricity: | 0.9979 |
| Perihelion: | 4.899 AU |
| Semimajor: | ~1100 AU |
| Aphelion: | ~2210 AU |
| Period: | 36,800 years (approx.) |
| Last P: | November 22, 1996 |
Comet Zhu–Balam (C/1997 L1) is a long-period comet first identified by David D. Balam on June 8, 1997, and originally photographed by Jin Zhu on June 3, 1997.[1] [2] The comet is estimated at 10 kilometres in diameter[2] with a period of approximately 36,800 years.
Given the orbital eccentricity of this object, different epochs can generate quite different heliocentric unperturbed two-body best-fit solutions to the aphelion distance (maximum distance) of this object. For objects at such high eccentricity, the Suns barycentric coordinates are more stable than heliocentric coordinates. Using JPL Horizons the barycentric orbital elements for epoch 2015-Jan-01 generate a semi-major axis of 1100 AU and a period of approximately 36,800 years.[3]