C/2017 S6 (Catalina)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2017 S6 (Catalina)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2018-02-26T22:22:53.693760Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-04-15T23:33:35Z
Obs used 247
NEO -
M1 15.300
K1 4.750
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2017-11-15.0000000
e 1.00140730
q (au) 1.542930
a (au) -1096.375698
i (deg) 152.826812
Ω (om, deg) 130.873122
ω (w, deg) 134.685410
M (ma, deg) -0.002822

Magnitude

C/2017 S6 (Catalina) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (17.010 + 2.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 17.010
n 2.000
gf 1.000
gb -0.676
k 0.800
δ90 10.000
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
2017-02-16 2017-10-28 +4.8973 -2.493
2017-10-28 2018-02-05 +7.2164 -2.343

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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-05-12 00:00 12:43:09.37 -34:38:44.8 HIP 62037 21.13
2026-05-12 12:00 12:43:04.01 -34:37:51.6 HIP 62037 20.15
2026-05-13 00:00 12:42:58.68 -34:36:58.4 HIP 62037 19.22
2026-05-13 12:00 12:42:53.39 -34:36:05.0 HIP 62037 18.35
2026-05-14 00:00 12:42:48.14 -34:35:11.5 HIP 62037 17.54
2026-05-14 12:00 12:42:42.94 -34:34:18.0 HIP 62037 16.81
2026-05-15 00:00 12:42:37.77 -34:33:24.3 HIP 62037 16.17
2026-05-15 12:00 12:42:32.64 -34:32:30.6 HIP 62037 15.62
2026-05-16 00:00 12:42:27.56 -34:31:36.8 HIP 62037 15.17
2026-05-16 12:00 12:42:22.52 -34:30:42.9 HIP 62037 14.83
2026-05-17 00:00 12:42:17.52 -34:29:48.9 HIP 62037 14.60
2026-05-17 12:00 12:42:12.56 -34:28:54.9 HIP 62037 14.50
2026-05-18 00:00 12:42:07.65 -34:28:00.8 HIP 62037 14.52
2026-05-18 12:00 12:42:02.77 -34:27:06.7 HIP 62037 14.66
2026-05-19 00:00 12:41:57.95 -34:26:12.5 HIP 62037 14.91
2026-05-19 12:00 12:41:53.16 -34:25:18.3 HIP 62037 15.26
2026-05-20 00:00 12:41:48.42 -34:24:24.0 HIP 62037 15.72
2026-05-20 12:00 12:41:43.73 -34:23:29.7 HIP 62037 16.26
2026-05-21 00:00 12:41:39.08 -34:22:35.3 HIP 62037 16.88
2026-05-21 12:00 12:41:34.47 -34:21:40.9 HIP 62037 17.58
2026-05-22 00:00 12:41:29.91 -34:20:46.5 HIP 62037 18.32
2026-05-22 12:00 12:41:25.39 -34:19:52.1 HIP 62037 19.13
2026-05-23 00:00 12:41:20.92 -34:18:57.6 HIP 61785 19.05
2026-05-23 12:00 12:41:16.50 -34:18:03.2 HIP 61785 18.35
2026-05-24 00:00 12:41:12.12 -34:17:08.7 HIP 61785 17.73
2026-05-24 12:00 12:41:07.79 -34:16:14.2 HIP 61785 17.19
2026-05-25 00:00 12:41:03.50 -34:15:19.8 HIP 61785 16.74
2026-05-25 12:00 12:40:59.26 -34:14:25.3 HIP 61785 16.38
2026-05-26 00:00 12:40:55.07 -34:13:30.9 HIP 61785 16.12
2026-05-26 12:00 12:40:50.92 -34:12:36.4 HIP 61785 15.96
2026-05-27 00:00 12:40:46.83 -34:11:42.0 HIP 61785 15.90
2026-05-27 12:00 12:40:42.77 -34:10:47.6 HIP 61785 15.95
2026-05-28 00:00 12:40:38.77 -34:09:53.2 HIP 61785 16.10
2026-05-28 12:00 12:40:34.81 -34:08:58.9 HIP 61785 16.34
2026-05-29 00:00 12:40:30.91 -34:08:04.6 HIP 61785 16.68
2026-05-29 12:00 12:40:27.05 -34:07:10.3 HIP 61785 17.10
2026-05-30 00:00 12:40:23.23 -34:06:16.1 HIP 61785 17.59
2026-05-30 12:00 12:40:19.47 -34:05:21.9 HIP 61785 18.15
2026-05-31 00:00 12:40:15.75 -34:04:27.8 HIP 61757 18.76
2026-05-31 12:00 12:40:12.09 -34:03:33.7 HIP 61757 17.59
2026-06-01 00:00 12:40:08.47 -34:02:39.7 HIP 61757 16.43
2026-06-01 12:00 12:40:04.90 -34:01:45.8 HIP 61757 15.27
2026-06-02 00:00 12:40:01.38 -34:00:51.9 HIP 61757 14.12