C/2021 Q3 (ATLAS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 Q3 (ATLAS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2022-01-26T01:52:57.941760Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2023-03-20T19:42:36Z
Obs used 180
NEO -
M1 6.900
K1 11.750
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-08-26T07:07:01.228800Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 19.02 o
Discovery observatory (MPC) T05 · ATLAS-HKO, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2022-01-10.0000000
e 0.93033551
q (au) 5.204636
a (au) 74.710023
i (deg) 77.777282
Ω (om, deg) 307.900611
ω (w, deg) 114.090847
M (ma, deg) 359.975460

Magnitude

C/2021 Q3 (ATLAS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (3.505 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 3.505
n 6.000
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-03-26 00:00 08:17:44.18 -12:37:48.1 HIP 40693 9.66
2026-03-26 12:00 08:17:39.07 -12:37:01.3 HIP 40693 10.93
2026-03-27 00:00 08:17:34.05 -12:36:14.4 HIP 40553 10.25
2026-03-27 12:00 08:17:29.12 -12:35:27.5 HIP 40553 9.02
2026-03-28 00:00 08:17:24.29 -12:34:40.7 HIP 40553 7.88
2026-03-28 12:00 08:17:19.56 -12:33:53.8 HIP 40553 6.86
2026-03-29 00:00 08:17:14.92 -12:33:06.9 HIP 40553 6.02
2026-03-29 12:00 08:17:10.37 -12:32:20.0 HIP 40553 5.42
2026-03-30 00:00 08:17:05.92 -12:31:33.1 HIP 40553 5.14
2026-03-30 12:00 08:17:01.56 -12:30:46.3 HIP 40553 5.20
2026-03-31 00:00 08:16:57.29 -12:29:59.5 HIP 40553 5.60
2026-03-31 12:00 08:16:53.12 -12:29:12.8 HIP 40553 6.24
2026-04-01 00:00 08:16:49.05 -12:28:26.0 HIP 40553 7.05
2026-04-01 12:00 08:16:45.07 -12:27:39.4 HIP 40553 7.98
2026-04-02 00:00 08:16:41.18 -12:26:52.8 HIP 40553 8.98
2026-04-02 12:00 08:16:37.39 -12:26:06.2 HIP 40553 10.01
2026-04-03 00:00 08:16:33.69 -12:25:19.8 HIP 40553 11.08
2026-04-03 12:00 08:16:30.09 -12:24:33.4 HIP 40553 12.15
2026-04-04 00:00 08:16:26.58 -12:23:47.1 HIP 40553 13.23
2026-04-04 12:00 08:16:23.17 -12:23:00.9 HIP 40553 14.30
2026-04-05 00:00 08:16:19.85 -12:22:14.8 HIP 40553 15.38
2026-04-05 12:00 08:16:16.62 -12:21:28.8 HIP 40553 16.44
2026-04-06 00:00 08:16:13.49 -12:20:43.0 HIP 40553 17.50
2026-04-06 12:00 08:16:10.46 -12:19:57.2 HIP 40553 18.54
2026-04-07 00:00 08:16:07.52 -12:19:11.6 HIP 40553 19.57
2026-04-07 12:00 08:16:04.67 -12:18:26.1 HIP 40553 20.59
2026-04-08 00:00 08:16:01.92 -12:17:40.7 HIP 40553 21.59
2026-04-08 12:00 08:15:59.26 -12:16:55.5 HIP 40553 22.58
2026-04-09 00:00 08:15:56.70 -12:16:10.5 HIP 40553 23.55
2026-04-09 12:00 08:15:54.23 -12:15:25.6 HIP 40553 24.51
2026-04-10 00:00 08:15:51.86 -12:14:40.9 HIP 40553 25.46
2026-04-10 12:00 08:15:49.58 -12:13:56.3 HIP 40553 26.38
2026-04-11 00:00 08:15:47.39 -12:13:11.9 HIP 40553 27.30
2026-04-11 12:00 08:15:45.30 -12:12:27.8 HIP 40553 28.19
2026-04-12 00:00 08:15:43.31 -12:11:43.8 HIP 40553 29.07
2026-04-12 12:00 08:15:41.40 -12:11:00.0 HIP 40553 29.94
2026-04-13 00:00 08:15:39.60 -12:10:16.4 HIP 40553 30.78
2026-04-13 12:00 08:15:37.88 -12:09:33.0 HIP 40553 31.62
2026-04-14 00:00 08:15:36.26 -12:08:49.9 HIP 40553 32.43
2026-04-14 12:00 08:15:34.73 -12:08:07.0 HIP 40553 33.23
2026-04-15 00:00 08:15:33.30 -12:07:24.3 HIP 40553 34.02
2026-04-15 12:00 08:15:31.96 -12:06:41.8 HIP 40553 34.79
2026-04-16 00:00 08:15:30.71 -12:05:59.7 HIP 40553 35.54