C/2023 A1 (Leonard)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2023 A1 (Leonard)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2023-03-18T17:25:38.349120Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-04-13T16:42:45Z
Obs used 453
NEO -
M1 6.300
K1 37.000
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2023-01-09T12:59:03.782400Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 18.94 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) G96 · Mt. Lemmon Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2023-03-06.0000000
e 0.99200431
q (au) 1.834725
a (au) 229.464077
i (deg) 94.743121
Ω (om, deg) 318.307926
ω (w, deg) 159.249397
M (ma, deg) 359.996391

Magnitude

C/2023 A1 (Leonard) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (11.463 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 11.463
n 6.000
gf 1.000
gb -0.502
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
2022-12-15 2023-03-18 +26.2284 -7.251

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 02:28:46.93 -62:32:24.4 HIP 11701 15.27
2026-05-12 12:00 02:29:04.71 -62:32:45.7 HIP 11701 13.20
2026-05-13 00:00 02:29:22.46 -62:33:08.4 HIP 11701 11.12
2026-05-13 12:00 02:29:40.18 -62:33:32.2 HIP 11701 9.04
2026-05-14 00:00 02:29:57.87 -62:33:57.3 HIP 11701 6.97
2026-05-14 12:00 02:30:15.52 -62:34:23.6 HIP 11701 4.89
2026-05-15 00:00 02:30:33.13 -62:34:51.1 HIP 11701 2.82
2026-05-15 12:00 02:30:50.70 -62:35:19.8 HIP 11701 0.78
2026-05-16 00:00 02:31:08.24 -62:35:49.8 HIP 11701 1.38
2026-05-16 12:00 02:31:25.74 -62:36:21.0 HIP 11701 3.44
2026-05-17 00:00 02:31:43.19 -62:36:53.4 HIP 11701 5.51
2026-05-17 12:00 02:32:00.60 -62:37:27.1 HIP 11701 7.59
2026-05-18 00:00 02:32:17.97 -62:38:02.0 HIP 11900 9.14
2026-05-18 12:00 02:32:35.30 -62:38:38.0 HIP 11900 7.53
2026-05-19 00:00 02:32:52.58 -62:39:15.3 HIP 11900 6.21
2026-05-19 12:00 02:33:09.81 -62:39:53.9 HIP 11900 5.43
2026-05-20 00:00 02:33:26.99 -62:40:33.6 HIP 11900 5.41
2026-05-20 12:00 02:33:44.13 -62:41:14.5 HIP 11900 6.16
2026-05-21 00:00 02:34:01.22 -62:41:56.6 HIP 11900 7.45
2026-05-21 12:00 02:34:18.26 -62:42:40.0 HIP 11900 9.06
2026-05-22 00:00 02:34:35.24 -62:43:24.5 HIP 11900 10.84
2026-05-22 12:00 02:34:52.17 -62:44:10.2 HIP 11900 12.72
2026-05-23 00:00 02:35:09.05 -62:44:57.2 HIP 11900 14.67
2026-05-23 12:00 02:35:25.88 -62:45:45.3 HIP 11900 16.66
2026-05-24 00:00 02:35:42.65 -62:46:34.6 HIP 11900 18.67
2026-05-24 12:00 02:35:59.36 -62:47:25.1 HIP 11900 20.71
2026-05-25 00:00 02:36:16.01 -62:48:16.7 HIP 11900 22.76
2026-05-25 12:00 02:36:32.61 -62:49:09.6 HIP 12404 23.17
2026-05-26 00:00 02:36:49.15 -62:50:03.6 HIP 12404 21.70
2026-05-26 12:00 02:37:05.63 -62:50:58.8 HIP 12404 20.37
2026-05-27 00:00 02:37:22.05 -62:51:55.1 HIP 12404 19.19
2026-05-27 12:00 02:37:38.40 -62:52:52.6 HIP 12404 18.19
2026-05-28 00:00 02:37:54.70 -62:53:51.3 HIP 12404 17.41
2026-05-28 12:00 02:38:10.93 -62:54:51.1 HIP 12404 16.89
2026-05-29 00:00 02:38:27.10 -62:55:52.1 HIP 12404 16.63
2026-05-29 12:00 02:38:43.20 -62:56:54.3 HIP 12404 16.66
2026-05-30 00:00 02:38:59.23 -62:57:57.5 HIP 12404 16.98
2026-05-30 12:00 02:39:15.20 -62:59:02.0 HIP 12404 17.57
2026-05-31 00:00 02:39:31.10 -63:00:07.6 HIP 12404 18.41
2026-05-31 12:00 02:39:46.93 -63:01:14.3 HIP 12404 19.46
2026-06-01 00:00 02:40:02.69 -63:02:22.1 HIP 12404 20.69
2026-06-01 12:00 02:40:18.38 -63:03:31.1 HIP 12404 22.08
2026-06-02 00:00 02:40:34.00 -63:04:41.3 HIP 12726 22.70