C/2021 P2 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 P2 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2023-01-22T16:20:24.480960Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2025-06-26T10:12:45Z
Obs used 408
NEO -
M1 7.500
K1 11.500
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-08-07T12:35:04.617600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 21.50 w
Discovery observatory (MPC) F51 · Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2023-02-01.0000000
e 0.99795112
q (au) 5.069092
a (au) 2474.083378
i (deg) 150.063521
Ω (om, deg) 32.079344
ω (w, deg) 76.687326
M (ma, deg) 0.000075

Magnitude

C/2021 P2 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (5.684 + 5.099\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 5.684
n 5.099
gf 1.000
gb -1.000
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
2021-06-19 2022-11-22 +5.2257 -3.680
2023-04-26 2025-05-21 -4.1164 +2.668

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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-03-26 00:00 15:21:49.61 -09:30:18.9 HIP 75185 10.04
2026-03-26 12:00 15:21:36.35 -09:29:37.3 HIP 75185 10.15
2026-03-27 00:00 15:21:23.00 -09:28:55.6 HIP 75185 11.32
2026-03-27 12:00 15:21:09.56 -09:28:13.6 HIP 75185 13.27
2026-03-28 00:00 15:20:56.02 -09:27:31.5 HIP 75185 15.74
2026-03-28 12:00 15:20:42.40 -09:26:49.2 HIP 75081 16.40
2026-03-29 00:00 15:20:28.68 -09:26:06.7 HIP 75081 17.01
2026-03-29 12:00 15:20:14.88 -09:25:24.0 HIP 75081 18.27
2026-03-30 00:00 15:20:01.00 -09:24:41.2 HIP 74982 18.61
2026-03-30 12:00 15:19:47.02 -09:23:58.2 HIP 74982 16.41
2026-03-31 00:00 15:19:32.97 -09:23:15.0 HIP 74982 14.73
2026-03-31 12:00 15:19:18.83 -09:22:31.7 HIP 74982 13.76
2026-04-01 00:00 15:19:04.60 -09:21:48.2 HIP 74982 13.69
2026-04-01 12:00 15:18:50.30 -09:21:04.5 HIP 74982 14.54
2026-04-02 00:00 15:18:35.91 -09:20:20.8 HIP 74982 16.18
2026-04-02 12:00 15:18:21.44 -09:19:36.8 HIP 74982 18.41
2026-04-03 00:00 15:18:06.89 -09:18:52.8 HIP 74785 16.89
2026-04-03 12:00 15:17:52.27 -09:18:08.6 HIP 74785 13.66
2026-04-04 00:00 15:17:37.57 -09:17:24.2 HIP 74785 10.71
2026-04-04 12:00 15:17:22.79 -09:16:39.8 HIP 74785 8.37
2026-04-05 00:00 15:17:07.94 -09:15:55.2 HIP 74785 7.29
2026-04-05 12:00 15:16:53.01 -09:15:10.5 HIP 74785 8.01
2026-04-06 00:00 15:16:38.01 -09:14:25.7 HIP 74785 10.18
2026-04-06 12:00 15:16:22.93 -09:13:40.8 HIP 74785 13.12
2026-04-07 00:00 15:16:07.79 -09:12:55.8 HIP 74785 16.42
2026-04-07 12:00 15:15:52.57 -09:12:10.7 HIP 74785 19.93
2026-04-08 00:00 15:15:37.29 -09:11:25.6 HIP 74785 23.55
2026-04-08 12:00 15:15:21.94 -09:10:40.3 HIP 74785 27.25
2026-04-09 00:00 15:15:06.52 -09:09:54.9 HIP 74548 26.07
2026-04-09 12:00 15:14:51.03 -09:09:09.5 HIP 74548 24.37
2026-04-10 00:00 15:14:35.49 -09:08:24.0 HIP 74548 23.21
2026-04-10 12:00 15:14:19.87 -09:07:38.4 HIP 74560 21.97
2026-04-11 00:00 15:14:04.20 -09:06:52.7 HIP 74560 20.87
2026-04-11 12:00 15:13:48.46 -09:06:07.0 HIP 74560 20.49
2026-04-12 00:00 15:13:32.67 -09:05:21.3 HIP 74410 19.51
2026-04-12 12:00 15:13:16.81 -09:04:35.5 HIP 74410 16.81
2026-04-13 00:00 15:13:00.90 -09:03:49.7 HIP 74410 14.70
2026-04-13 12:00 15:12:44.93 -09:03:03.8 HIP 74410 13.47
2026-04-14 00:00 15:12:28.91 -09:02:17.9 HIP 74410 13.39
2026-04-14 12:00 15:12:12.83 -09:01:32.0 HIP 74371 12.31
2026-04-15 00:00 15:11:56.70 -09:00:46.0 HIP 74371 10.45
2026-04-15 12:00 15:11:40.52 -09:00:00.1 HIP 74371 9.99
2026-04-16 00:00 15:11:24.28 -08:59:14.1 HIP 74371 11.12