C/2021 C4 (ATLAS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 C4 (ATLAS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2021-01-17T01:15:25.960320Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2025-10-28T16:12:33Z
Obs used 234
NEO -
M1 6.900
K1 13.500
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-02-12T14:39:53.769600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 18.73 c
Discovery observatory (MPC) T05 · ATLAS-HKO, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2021-06-12.0000000
e 0.99919682
q (au) 4.504185
a (au) 5607.929825
i (deg) 132.842626
Ω (om, deg) 194.276215
ω (w, deg) 320.231119
M (ma, deg) 0.000343

Magnitude

C/2021 C4 (ATLAS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (5.414 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 5.414
n 6.000
gf 0.942
gb -0.980
k 1.000
δ90 1.000
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-05-12 00:00 09:49:25.71 +59:51:20.5 HIP 48140 15.15
2026-05-12 12:00 09:49:22.20 +59:50:10.3 HIP 48140 16.16
2026-05-13 00:00 09:49:18.83 +59:49:00.0 HIP 48140 17.20
2026-05-13 12:00 09:49:15.59 +59:47:49.3 HIP 48140 18.28
2026-05-14 00:00 09:49:12.50 +59:46:38.5 HIP 48140 19.38
2026-05-14 12:00 09:49:09.54 +59:45:27.5 HIP 48140 20.51
2026-05-15 00:00 09:49:06.72 +59:44:16.3 HIP 48140 21.65
2026-05-15 12:00 09:49:04.05 +59:43:04.9 HIP 48140 22.81
2026-05-16 00:00 09:49:01.51 +59:41:53.4 HIP 48140 23.97
2026-05-16 12:00 09:48:59.10 +59:40:41.7 HIP 48056 24.52
2026-05-17 00:00 09:48:56.84 +59:39:29.8 HIP 48056 23.30
2026-05-17 12:00 09:48:54.71 +59:38:17.8 HIP 48056 22.09
2026-05-18 00:00 09:48:52.71 +59:37:05.7 HIP 48056 20.88
2026-05-18 12:00 09:48:50.86 +59:35:53.4 HIP 48056 19.69
2026-05-19 00:00 09:48:49.13 +59:34:41.0 HIP 48056 18.50
2026-05-19 12:00 09:48:47.54 +59:33:28.5 HIP 48056 17.33
2026-05-20 00:00 09:48:46.09 +59:32:15.8 HIP 48056 16.17
2026-05-20 12:00 09:48:44.76 +59:31:03.1 HIP 48056 15.02
2026-05-21 00:00 09:48:43.57 +59:29:50.3 HIP 48056 13.90
2026-05-21 12:00 09:48:42.51 +59:28:37.3 HIP 48056 12.80
2026-05-22 00:00 09:48:41.58 +59:27:24.3 HIP 48056 11.74
2026-05-22 12:00 09:48:40.79 +59:26:11.3 HIP 48056 10.72
2026-05-23 00:00 09:48:40.12 +59:24:58.1 HIP 48056 9.75
2026-05-23 12:00 09:48:39.58 +59:23:44.9 HIP 48056 8.86
2026-05-24 00:00 09:48:39.16 +59:22:31.6 HIP 48056 8.08
2026-05-24 12:00 09:48:38.88 +59:21:18.3 HIP 48056 7.42
2026-05-25 00:00 09:48:38.72 +59:20:05.0 HIP 48056 6.94
2026-05-25 12:00 09:48:38.69 +59:18:51.6 HIP 48056 6.66
2026-05-26 00:00 09:48:38.78 +59:17:38.2 HIP 48056 6.62
2026-05-26 12:00 09:48:39.00 +59:16:24.7 HIP 48056 6.82
2026-05-27 00:00 09:48:39.34 +59:15:11.3 HIP 48056 7.24
2026-05-27 12:00 09:48:39.80 +59:13:57.8 HIP 48056 7.84
2026-05-28 00:00 09:48:40.39 +59:12:44.3 HIP 48056 8.59
2026-05-28 12:00 09:48:41.10 +59:11:30.8 HIP 48056 9.45
2026-05-29 00:00 09:48:41.93 +59:10:17.3 HIP 48056 10.40
2026-05-29 12:00 09:48:42.88 +59:09:03.9 HIP 48056 11.41
2026-05-30 00:00 09:48:43.95 +59:07:50.4 HIP 48056 12.47
2026-05-30 12:00 09:48:45.14 +59:06:37.0 HIP 48056 13.56
2026-05-31 00:00 09:48:46.45 +59:05:23.6 HIP 48056 14.69
2026-05-31 12:00 09:48:47.88 +59:04:10.2 HIP 48056 15.84
2026-06-01 00:00 09:48:49.42 +59:02:56.9 HIP 48319 16.76
2026-06-01 12:00 09:48:51.08 +59:01:43.6 HIP 48319 16.56
2026-06-02 00:00 09:48:52.86 +59:00:30.3 HIP 48319 16.42