| Parameter |
Value |
| Designation |
C/2006 W3 (Christensen) |
| Type |
C |
| Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) |
2009-07-06T15:35:19.720320Z |
| Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) |
2021-04-15T23:31:02Z |
| Obs used |
5639 |
| NEO |
- |
| M1 |
8.200 |
| K1 |
5.500 |
| PC |
- |
Osculating Elements
| Parameter |
Value |
| Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) |
2009-03-11.0000000 |
| e |
0.99982443 |
| q (au) |
3.126233 |
| a (au) |
17806.222961 |
| i (deg) |
127.074694 |
| Ω (om, deg) |
113.570597 |
| ω (w, deg) |
133.514480 |
| M (ma, deg) |
359.999951 |
Magnitude
Scatter + Global Linear
$$
M_a = (6.022 + 3.691\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta
$$
$$
\theta = 180^\circ - \alpha
$$
$$
\Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b)
$$
$$
\Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1
$$
Model Parameters
| Parameter |
Value |
| H0 |
6.022 |
| n |
3.691 |
| gf |
1.000 |
| gb |
-0.517 |
| k |
0.800 |
| 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 |
| 2006-10-29 |
2009-07-06 |
+3.5691 |
-2.737 |
| 2009-07-06 |
2011-09-24 |
+0.7709 |
-1.054 |
log10 r = log10(heliocentric distance / AU), Δ = geocentric distance (AU)
Ephemeris
| Date/Time (UTC) |
RA (J2000) |
Dec (J2000) |
Nearest HIP |
Dist from HIP (arcmin) |
| 2026-07-29 00:00 |
10:35:33.49 |
-48:35:26.5 |
HIP 51986 |
27.97 |
| 2026-07-29 12:00 |
10:35:37.30 |
-48:35:10.7 |
HIP 51986 |
27.37 |
| 2026-07-30 00:00 |
10:35:41.14 |
-48:34:55.3 |
HIP 51986 |
26.78 |
| 2026-07-30 12:00 |
10:35:44.99 |
-48:34:40.2 |
HIP 51986 |
26.20 |
| 2026-07-31 00:00 |
10:35:48.86 |
-48:34:25.4 |
HIP 51986 |
25.62 |
| 2026-07-31 12:00 |
10:35:52.74 |
-48:34:11.0 |
HIP 51986 |
25.05 |
| 2026-08-01 00:00 |
10:35:56.65 |
-48:33:56.9 |
HIP 51986 |
24.50 |
| 2026-08-01 12:00 |
10:36:00.57 |
-48:33:43.2 |
HIP 51986 |
23.95 |
| 2026-08-02 00:00 |
10:36:04.51 |
-48:33:29.8 |
HIP 51986 |
23.42 |
| 2026-08-02 12:00 |
10:36:08.46 |
-48:33:16.8 |
HIP 51986 |
22.89 |
| 2026-08-03 00:00 |
10:36:12.43 |
-48:33:04.1 |
HIP 51986 |
22.38 |
| 2026-08-03 12:00 |
10:36:16.42 |
-48:32:51.8 |
HIP 51986 |
21.88 |
| 2026-08-04 00:00 |
10:36:20.42 |
-48:32:39.9 |
HIP 51986 |
21.40 |
| 2026-08-04 12:00 |
10:36:24.44 |
-48:32:28.3 |
HIP 51986 |
20.94 |
| 2026-08-05 00:00 |
10:36:28.48 |
-48:32:17.0 |
HIP 51986 |
20.49 |
| 2026-08-05 12:00 |
10:36:32.53 |
-48:32:06.2 |
HIP 51986 |
20.06 |
| 2026-08-06 00:00 |
10:36:36.59 |
-48:31:55.6 |
HIP 51986 |
19.65 |
| 2026-08-06 12:00 |
10:36:40.67 |
-48:31:45.5 |
HIP 51986 |
19.26 |
| 2026-08-07 00:00 |
10:36:44.77 |
-48:31:35.6 |
HIP 51986 |
18.89 |
| 2026-08-07 12:00 |
10:36:48.87 |
-48:31:26.2 |
HIP 51986 |
18.55 |
| 2026-08-08 00:00 |
10:36:53.00 |
-48:31:17.1 |
HIP 51986 |
18.24 |
| 2026-08-08 12:00 |
10:36:57.13 |
-48:31:08.3 |
HIP 51986 |
17.95 |
| 2026-08-09 00:00 |
10:37:01.28 |
-48:31:00.0 |
HIP 51986 |
17.69 |
| 2026-08-09 12:00 |
10:37:05.44 |
-48:30:51.9 |
HIP 51986 |
17.46 |
| 2026-08-10 00:00 |
10:37:09.62 |
-48:30:44.3 |
HIP 51986 |
17.26 |
| 2026-08-10 12:00 |
10:37:13.80 |
-48:30:37.0 |
HIP 51986 |
17.10 |
| 2026-08-11 00:00 |
10:37:18.00 |
-48:30:30.0 |
HIP 51986 |
16.96 |
| 2026-08-11 12:00 |
10:37:22.21 |
-48:30:23.4 |
HIP 51986 |
16.87 |
| 2026-08-12 00:00 |
10:37:26.43 |
-48:30:17.2 |
HIP 51986 |
16.81 |
| 2026-08-12 12:00 |
10:37:30.67 |
-48:30:11.4 |
HIP 51986 |
16.78 |
| 2026-08-13 00:00 |
10:37:34.91 |
-48:30:05.9 |
HIP 51986 |
16.79 |
| 2026-08-13 12:00 |
10:37:39.17 |
-48:30:00.7 |
HIP 51986 |
16.84 |
| 2026-08-14 00:00 |
10:37:43.43 |
-48:29:56.0 |
HIP 51986 |
16.92 |
| 2026-08-14 12:00 |
10:37:47.71 |
-48:29:51.6 |
HIP 51986 |
17.04 |
| 2026-08-15 00:00 |
10:37:51.99 |
-48:29:47.5 |
HIP 51986 |
17.19 |
| 2026-08-15 12:00 |
10:37:56.28 |
-48:29:43.8 |
HIP 51986 |
17.38 |
| 2026-08-16 00:00 |
10:38:00.59 |
-48:29:40.5 |
HIP 51986 |
17.60 |
| 2026-08-16 12:00 |
10:38:04.90 |
-48:29:37.5 |
HIP 51986 |
17.86 |
| 2026-08-17 00:00 |
10:38:09.22 |
-48:29:34.9 |
HIP 51986 |
18.14 |
| 2026-08-17 12:00 |
10:38:13.55 |
-48:29:32.7 |
HIP 51986 |
18.46 |
| 2026-08-18 00:00 |
10:38:17.88 |
-48:29:30.8 |
HIP 51986 |
18.80 |
| 2026-08-18 12:00 |
10:38:22.23 |
-48:29:29.3 |
HIP 51986 |
19.17 |
| 2026-08-19 00:00 |
10:38:26.58 |
-48:29:28.1 |
HIP 51986 |
19.56 |