C/2015 B2 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2015 B2 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2016-05-06T13:45:33.413760Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-04-15T23:33:05Z
Obs used 242
NEO -
M1 11.600
K1 7.000
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2016-01-19.0000000
e 1.00023551
q (au) 3.369608
a (au) -14307.501597
i (deg) 105.088172
Ω (om, deg) 341.901291
ω (w, deg) 284.767940
M (ma, deg) -0.000063

Magnitude

C/2015 B2 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (11.232 + 2.360\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 11.232
n 2.360
gf 1.000
gb -0.777
k 1.000
δ90 9.999
Parameter Symbol Range Description
Absolute magnitude at 1 AU from Sun and Earth H0 -5 to 20 Intrinsic brightness of the comet
Photometric slope parameter n 2 to 6 Rate of brightness change with heliocentric distance
Forward scattering asymmetry factor gf 0.8 to 1 Degree of forward scattering
Backward scattering asymmetry factor gb -1 to -0.5 Degree of backward scattering
Partitioning coefficient k 0.8 to 1 Ratio between forward/backward scattering contributions
Dust-to-gas brightness ratio δ90 1 to 10 Relative contribution of dust scattering to gas emission

Reference: EPSC-DPS2025-160

Residuals (Piecewise)

$$\epsilon = a \log_{10} r_{\mathrm{au}} + b$$

Start (UTC) End (UTC) a b
2015-01-06 2016-03-11 +0.3867 -0.622
2016-06-30 2017-09-12 +5.7621 -2.956

log10 r = log10(heliocentric distance / AU), Δ = geocentric distance (AU)

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-03-26 00:00 20:16:30.09 +37:33:38.3 HIP 99898 4.28
2026-03-26 12:00 20:16:32.37 +37:34:45.2 HIP 99898 4.91
2026-03-27 00:00 20:16:34.60 +37:35:52.3 HIP 99898 5.73
2026-03-27 12:00 20:16:36.79 +37:36:59.6 HIP 99980 5.86
2026-03-28 00:00 20:16:38.92 +37:38:07.0 HIP 99980 4.83
2026-03-28 12:00 20:16:41.01 +37:39:14.6 HIP 99980 3.90
2026-03-29 00:00 20:16:43.05 +37:40:22.3 HIP 99980 3.17
2026-03-29 12:00 20:16:45.05 +37:41:30.2 HIP 99980 2.81
2026-03-30 00:00 20:16:47.00 +37:42:38.3 HIP 99980 2.93
2026-03-30 12:00 20:16:48.89 +37:43:46.4 HIP 99980 3.50
2026-03-31 00:00 20:16:50.74 +37:44:54.8 HIP 99980 4.34
2026-03-31 12:00 20:16:52.54 +37:46:03.3 HIP 99980 5.32
2026-04-01 00:00 20:16:54.30 +37:47:11.9 HIP 99980 6.38
2026-04-01 12:00 20:16:56.00 +37:48:20.6 HIP 99980 7.48
2026-04-02 00:00 20:16:57.66 +37:49:29.5 HIP 99980 8.61
2026-04-02 12:00 20:16:59.26 +37:50:38.5 HIP 99980 9.76
2026-04-03 00:00 20:17:00.82 +37:51:47.6 HIP 99980 10.91
2026-04-03 12:00 20:17:02.32 +37:52:56.8 HIP 99980 12.08
2026-04-04 00:00 20:17:03.78 +37:54:06.1 HIP 100044 11.63
2026-04-04 12:00 20:17:05.19 +37:55:15.5 HIP 100044 10.66
2026-04-05 00:00 20:17:06.54 +37:56:25.1 HIP 100044 9.75
2026-04-05 12:00 20:17:07.85 +37:57:34.7 HIP 100044 8.91
2026-04-06 00:00 20:17:09.11 +37:58:44.4 HIP 100044 8.17
2026-04-06 12:00 20:17:10.31 +37:59:54.3 HIP 100044 7.56
2026-04-07 00:00 20:17:11.47 +38:01:04.2 HIP 100044 7.10
2026-04-07 12:00 20:17:12.57 +38:02:14.1 HIP 100044 6.82
2026-04-08 00:00 20:17:13.62 +38:03:24.2 HIP 100044 6.76
2026-04-08 12:00 20:17:14.63 +38:04:34.3 HIP 100044 6.92
2026-04-09 00:00 20:17:15.57 +38:05:44.5 HIP 100044 7.28
2026-04-09 12:00 20:17:16.47 +38:06:54.8 HIP 100009 7.33
2026-04-10 00:00 20:17:17.32 +38:08:05.1 HIP 100009 6.15
2026-04-10 12:00 20:17:18.11 +38:09:15.5 HIP 100009 4.97
2026-04-11 00:00 20:17:18.86 +38:10:25.9 HIP 100009 3.79
2026-04-11 12:00 20:17:19.55 +38:11:36.4 HIP 100009 2.61
2026-04-12 00:00 20:17:20.18 +38:12:46.9 HIP 100009 1.45
2026-04-12 12:00 20:17:20.77 +38:13:57.5 HIP 100009 0.43
2026-04-13 00:00 20:17:21.30 +38:15:08.0 HIP 100009 1.03
2026-04-13 12:00 20:17:21.78 +38:16:18.7 HIP 100009 2.18
2026-04-14 00:00 20:17:22.21 +38:17:29.3 HIP 100009 3.35
2026-04-14 12:00 20:17:22.58 +38:18:39.9 HIP 100009 4.52
2026-04-15 00:00 20:17:22.90 +38:19:50.6 HIP 100009 5.70
2026-04-15 12:00 20:17:23.17 +38:21:01.3 HIP 100009 6.88
2026-04-16 00:00 20:17:23.38 +38:22:11.9 HIP 100009 8.06