C/2018 A6 (Gibbs)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2018 A6 (Gibbs)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2019-07-14T07:12:03.481920Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-05-30T01:12:17Z
Obs used 915
NEO -
M1 9.700
K1 7.250
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2019-12-10.0000000
e 0.80342745
q (au) 3.017827
a (au) 15.352231
i (deg) 76.954875
Ω (om, deg) 340.386138
ω (w, deg) 264.536453
M (ma, deg) 2.436451

Magnitude

C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (6.874 + 3.973\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 6.874
n 3.973
gf 1.000
gb -0.502
k 1.000
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
2017-04-03 2018-02-13 -4.4374 +4.270
2018-02-13 2019-07-08 +5.4711 -3.199
2019-07-20 2020-06-07 +11.2381 -6.514
2020-06-07 2021-10-03 -7.5580 +5.191
2021-10-03 2023-10-19 -7.6929 +5.633

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 22:31:37.16 +38:04:51.7 HIP 111168 5.12
2026-05-12 12:00 22:31:39.27 +38:06:41.0 HIP 111168 6.68
2026-05-13 00:00 22:31:41.31 +38:08:30.2 HIP 111168 8.37
2026-05-13 12:00 22:31:43.28 +38:10:19.4 HIP 111168 10.11
2026-05-14 00:00 22:31:45.18 +38:12:08.6 HIP 111165 9.72
2026-05-14 12:00 22:31:47.00 +38:13:57.7 HIP 111165 8.58
2026-05-15 00:00 22:31:48.74 +38:15:46.8 HIP 111165 7.71
2026-05-15 12:00 22:31:50.41 +38:17:35.9 HIP 111165 7.20
2026-05-16 00:00 22:31:52.01 +38:19:25.0 HIP 111165 7.14
2026-05-16 12:00 22:31:53.53 +38:21:14.0 HIP 111165 7.53
2026-05-17 00:00 22:31:54.97 +38:23:02.9 HIP 111165 8.30
2026-05-17 12:00 22:31:56.34 +38:24:51.8 HIP 111165 9.36
2026-05-18 00:00 22:31:57.63 +38:26:40.6 HIP 111165 10.62
2026-05-18 12:00 22:31:58.84 +38:28:29.3 HIP 111165 12.02
2026-05-19 00:00 22:31:59.98 +38:30:18.0 HIP 111165 13.51
2026-05-19 12:00 22:32:01.04 +38:32:06.5 HIP 111298 14.92
2026-05-20 00:00 22:32:02.03 +38:33:55.0 HIP 111298 13.42
2026-05-20 12:00 22:32:02.93 +38:35:43.3 HIP 111298 12.01
2026-05-21 00:00 22:32:03.76 +38:37:31.6 HIP 111298 10.74
2026-05-21 12:00 22:32:04.51 +38:39:19.7 HIP 111298 9.65
2026-05-22 00:00 22:32:05.19 +38:41:07.8 HIP 111298 8.83
2026-05-22 12:00 22:32:05.78 +38:42:55.7 HIP 111298 8.33
2026-05-23 00:00 22:32:06.30 +38:44:43.4 HIP 111298 8.22
2026-05-23 12:00 22:32:06.74 +38:46:31.0 HIP 111298 8.52
2026-05-24 00:00 22:32:07.10 +38:48:18.5 HIP 111298 9.17
2026-05-24 12:00 22:32:07.38 +38:50:05.9 HIP 111298 10.12
2026-05-25 00:00 22:32:07.59 +38:51:53.1 HIP 111298 11.28
2026-05-25 12:00 22:32:07.71 +38:53:40.1 HIP 111298 12.60
2026-05-26 00:00 22:32:07.76 +38:55:26.9 HIP 111298 14.03
2026-05-26 12:00 22:32:07.72 +38:57:13.6 HIP 111298 15.53
2026-05-27 00:00 22:32:07.61 +38:59:00.2 HIP 111298 17.09
2026-05-27 12:00 22:32:07.42 +39:00:46.5 HIP 111167 16.99
2026-05-28 00:00 22:32:07.15 +39:02:32.6 HIP 111167 15.55
2026-05-28 12:00 22:32:06.80 +39:04:18.6 HIP 111167 14.17
2026-05-29 00:00 22:32:06.36 +39:06:04.3 HIP 111167 12.88
2026-05-29 12:00 22:32:05.85 +39:07:49.9 HIP 111167 11.70
2026-05-30 00:00 22:32:05.26 +39:09:35.2 HIP 111167 10.67
2026-05-30 12:00 22:32:04.59 +39:11:20.4 HIP 111167 9.84
2026-05-31 00:00 22:32:03.84 +39:13:05.3 HIP 111167 9.25
2026-05-31 12:00 22:32:03.01 +39:14:49.9 HIP 111167 8.96
2026-06-01 00:00 22:32:02.10 +39:16:34.4 HIP 111167 8.99
2026-06-01 12:00 22:32:01.11 +39:18:18.6 HIP 111167 9.34
2026-06-02 00:00 22:32:00.03 +39:20:02.6 HIP 111167 9.97