Orbital periods of dwarf Kreutz sungrazers detected by SOHO and other spacecraft

Determine the orbital periods of the dwarf Kreutz sungrazers detected by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and other space-borne coronagraphs to establish their dynamical properties within the Kreutz system.

Background

The Kreutz system contains thousands of small (“dwarf”) sungrazers discovered by space-borne coronagraphs such as SOHO. Their majority is believed to be debris of the Great Comet of 1106, and their physical lifetimes are thought to be shorter than a single revolution about the Sun, suggesting orbital periods shorter than 1000 years.

Despite these inferences, the paper explicitly states that the actual orbital periods of this large population remain unknown. Determining these periods is critical for understanding the fragmentation history and temporal distribution of the Kreutz system.

References

We have no idea what actually are the orbital periods of thousands of dwarf Kreutz sungrazers that coronagraphs on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and other space-borne instruments have been detecting.

— New Kreutz Sungrazer C/2026 A1 (MAPS): Third Time's the Charm?  (2602.17626 - Sekanina, 19 Feb 2026) in Section 3: The Orbital Period and Its Ramifications