Observations taken in January and February 2002 showed that the "asteroid" had developed a small amount of
cometary activity as it approached
perihelion. It was subsequently reclassified as a comet. The comet came to
perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 15 March 2002. It will come to aphelion in 2026 and the next perihelion passage is calculated to be on 7 June 2050. On 23 March 2147 the comet will pass about from Earth with an uncertainty region of about ±2 million km. This comet probably represents the transition between typical
Halley-family/long-period comets and
extinct comets.
Damocloids have been studied as possible extinct cometary candidates due to the similarity of their orbital parameters with those of Halley-family comets. == Physical properties ==