C/2020 P3 (ATLAS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2020 P3 (ATLAS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2021-04-20T20:06:04.121280Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-04-29T13:12:18Z
Obs used 698
NEO -
M1 5.800
K1 10.000
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2020-08-09T13:40:41.433600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 19.01 o
Discovery observatory (MPC) T08 · ATLAS-MLO, Mauna Loa
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2021-07-14.0000000
e 0.99914404
q (au) 6.812376
a (au) 7958.786111
i (deg) 61.884995
Ω (om, deg) 19.484342
ω (w, deg) 82.246067
M (ma, deg) 0.000117

Magnitude

C/2020 P3 (ATLAS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (7.781 + 5.487\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 7.781
n 5.487
gf 1.000
gb -0.906
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
2021-05-24 2024-04-12 +10.1462 -9.061

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 12:58:35.20 +03:43:12.5 HIP 63487 29.53
2026-05-12 12:00 12:58:28.37 +03:43:01.8 HIP 63487 31.15
2026-05-13 00:00 12:58:21.59 +03:42:50.7 HIP 63487 32.76
2026-05-13 12:00 12:58:14.87 +03:42:39.2 HIP 63209 33.90
2026-05-14 00:00 12:58:08.20 +03:42:27.2 HIP 63209 33.23
2026-05-14 12:00 12:58:01.58 +03:42:14.8 HIP 63209 32.64
2026-05-15 00:00 12:57:55.01 +03:42:01.9 HIP 63209 32.13
2026-05-15 12:00 12:57:48.50 +03:41:48.7 HIP 63209 31.72
2026-05-16 00:00 12:57:42.04 +03:41:35.0 HIP 63209 31.40
2026-05-16 12:00 12:57:35.64 +03:41:20.8 HIP 63209 31.17
2026-05-17 00:00 12:57:29.30 +03:41:06.3 HIP 63209 31.03
2026-05-17 12:00 12:57:23.01 +03:40:51.2 HIP 63209 30.98
2026-05-18 00:00 12:57:16.77 +03:40:35.8 HIP 63090 30.11
2026-05-18 12:00 12:57:10.60 +03:40:19.9 HIP 63090 28.69
2026-05-19 00:00 12:57:04.48 +03:40:03.6 HIP 63090 27.29
2026-05-19 12:00 12:56:58.42 +03:39:46.8 HIP 63090 25.91
2026-05-20 00:00 12:56:52.42 +03:39:29.6 HIP 63090 24.57
2026-05-20 12:00 12:56:46.47 +03:39:12.0 HIP 63090 23.25
2026-05-21 00:00 12:56:40.59 +03:38:53.9 HIP 63090 21.96
2026-05-21 12:00 12:56:34.76 +03:38:35.3 HIP 63090 20.70
2026-05-22 00:00 12:56:29.00 +03:38:16.4 HIP 63090 19.48
2026-05-22 12:00 12:56:23.29 +03:37:57.0 HIP 63090 18.30
2026-05-23 00:00 12:56:17.65 +03:37:37.1 HIP 63090 17.17
2026-05-23 12:00 12:56:12.07 +03:37:16.8 HIP 63090 16.10
2026-05-24 00:00 12:56:06.55 +03:36:56.1 HIP 63090 15.08
2026-05-24 12:00 12:56:01.09 +03:36:34.9 HIP 63090 14.13
2026-05-25 00:00 12:55:55.69 +03:36:13.3 HIP 63090 13.26
2026-05-25 12:00 12:55:50.35 +03:35:51.3 HIP 63090 12.49
2026-05-26 00:00 12:55:45.08 +03:35:28.8 HIP 63090 11.82
2026-05-26 12:00 12:55:39.87 +03:35:05.9 HIP 63090 11.27
2026-05-27 00:00 12:55:34.72 +03:34:42.6 HIP 63090 10.86
2026-05-27 12:00 12:55:29.63 +03:34:18.8 HIP 63090 10.60
2026-05-28 00:00 12:55:24.61 +03:33:54.6 HIP 63090 10.48
2026-05-28 12:00 12:55:19.65 +03:33:29.9 HIP 63090 10.52
2026-05-29 00:00 12:55:14.76 +03:33:04.8 HIP 63090 10.70
2026-05-29 12:00 12:55:09.93 +03:32:39.3 HIP 63090 11.01
2026-05-30 00:00 12:55:05.16 +03:32:13.3 HIP 63090 11.45
2026-05-30 12:00 12:55:00.46 +03:31:46.9 HIP 63090 11.98
2026-05-31 00:00 12:54:55.83 +03:31:20.1 HIP 63090 12.60
2026-05-31 12:00 12:54:51.26 +03:30:52.8 HIP 63090 13.29
2026-06-01 00:00 12:54:46.75 +03:30:25.1 HIP 63090 14.04
2026-06-01 12:00 12:54:42.31 +03:29:57.0 HIP 63090 14.83
2026-06-02 00:00 12:54:37.94 +03:29:28.5 HIP 63090 15.65