C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2021-05-04T03:17:13.050240Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-08-02T01:42:19Z
Obs used 167
NEO -
M1 5.100
K1 12.250
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-01-08T14:28:45.120000Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.89 w
Discovery observatory (MPC) F51 · Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2022-03-24.0000000
e 0.99923094
q (au) 7.928456
a (au) 10309.304354
i (deg) 75.612049
Ω (om, deg) 164.079307
ω (w, deg) 351.692611
M (ma, deg) 0.000305

Magnitude

C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (5.230 + 4.625\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 5.230
n 4.625
gf 0.981
gb -0.874
k 1.000
δ90 9.949
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-03-26 00:00 15:39:24.08 +53:44:51.2 HIP 76893 23.30
2026-03-26 12:00 15:39:19.24 +53:46:51.9 HIP 76893 24.19
2026-03-27 00:00 15:39:14.28 +53:48:51.9 HIP 76893 25.24
2026-03-27 12:00 15:39:09.21 +53:50:51.2 HIP 76893 26.43
2026-03-28 00:00 15:39:04.04 +53:52:49.7 HIP 76893 27.74
2026-03-28 12:00 15:38:58.75 +53:54:47.6 HIP 76893 29.15
2026-03-29 00:00 15:38:53.36 +53:56:44.7 HIP 76893 30.66
2026-03-29 12:00 15:38:47.86 +53:58:41.0 HIP 76311 31.32
2026-03-30 00:00 15:38:42.26 +54:00:36.6 HIP 76311 30.76
2026-03-30 12:00 15:38:36.54 +54:02:31.4 HIP 76509 29.54
2026-03-31 00:00 15:38:30.73 +54:04:25.5 HIP 76509 27.47
2026-03-31 12:00 15:38:24.81 +54:06:18.8 HIP 76509 25.41
2026-04-01 00:00 15:38:18.78 +54:08:11.3 HIP 76509 23.36
2026-04-01 12:00 15:38:12.66 +54:10:03.0 HIP 76509 21.32
2026-04-02 00:00 15:38:06.43 +54:11:53.9 HIP 76509 19.29
2026-04-02 12:00 15:38:00.10 +54:13:43.9 HIP 76509 17.28
2026-04-03 00:00 15:37:53.67 +54:15:33.2 HIP 76509 15.30
2026-04-03 12:00 15:37:47.13 +54:17:21.6 HIP 76509 13.35
2026-04-04 00:00 15:37:40.50 +54:19:09.2 HIP 76509 11.44
2026-04-04 12:00 15:37:33.78 +54:20:56.0 HIP 76509 9.60
2026-04-05 00:00 15:37:26.95 +54:22:41.9 HIP 76509 7.86
2026-04-05 12:00 15:37:20.03 +54:24:26.9 HIP 76509 6.32
2026-04-06 00:00 15:37:13.01 +54:26:11.1 HIP 76509 5.15
2026-04-06 12:00 15:37:05.90 +54:27:54.3 HIP 76509 4.61
2026-04-07 00:00 15:36:58.69 +54:29:36.7 HIP 76509 4.93
2026-04-07 12:00 15:36:51.39 +54:31:18.3 HIP 76509 5.95
2026-04-08 00:00 15:36:43.99 +54:32:58.9 HIP 76509 7.39
2026-04-08 12:00 15:36:36.51 +54:34:38.6 HIP 76376 6.54
2026-04-09 00:00 15:36:28.93 +54:36:17.3 HIP 76376 4.86
2026-04-09 12:00 15:36:21.26 +54:37:55.2 HIP 76376 3.50
2026-04-10 00:00 15:36:13.51 +54:39:32.1 HIP 76376 2.92
2026-04-10 12:00 15:36:05.67 +54:41:08.1 HIP 76376 3.53
2026-04-11 00:00 15:35:57.74 +54:42:43.1 HIP 76376 4.89
2026-04-11 12:00 15:35:49.72 +54:44:17.2 HIP 76376 6.54
2026-04-12 00:00 15:35:41.62 +54:45:50.3 HIP 76376 8.31
2026-04-12 12:00 15:35:33.44 +54:47:22.5 HIP 76376 10.13
2026-04-13 00:00 15:35:25.17 +54:48:53.6 HIP 76376 11.98
2026-04-13 12:00 15:35:16.82 +54:50:23.8 HIP 76376 13.84
2026-04-14 00:00 15:35:08.39 +54:51:53.0 HIP 76376 15.71
2026-04-14 12:00 15:34:59.88 +54:53:21.2 HIP 76376 17.58
2026-04-15 00:00 15:34:51.29 +54:54:48.4 HIP 76376 19.44
2026-04-15 12:00 15:34:42.63 +54:56:14.5 HIP 76376 21.31
2026-04-16 00:00 15:34:33.88 +54:57:39.7 HIP 76164 22.68