| 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) |
| 2026-06-01 00:00 |
10:31:21.08 |
-49:39:56.5 |
HIP 51580 |
14.88 |
| 2026-06-01 12:00 |
10:31:21.19 |
-49:39:10.2 |
HIP 51580 |
14.21 |
| 2026-06-02 00:00 |
10:31:21.34 |
-49:38:23.9 |
HIP 51580 |
13.55 |
| 2026-06-02 12:00 |
10:31:21.54 |
-49:37:37.9 |
HIP 51580 |
12.89 |
| 2026-06-03 00:00 |
10:31:21.78 |
-49:36:51.9 |
HIP 51580 |
12.25 |
| 2026-06-03 12:00 |
10:31:22.06 |
-49:36:06.1 |
HIP 51580 |
11.62 |
| 2026-06-04 00:00 |
10:31:22.38 |
-49:35:20.4 |
HIP 51580 |
11.00 |
| 2026-06-04 12:00 |
10:31:22.74 |
-49:34:34.9 |
HIP 51580 |
10.40 |
| 2026-06-05 00:00 |
10:31:23.14 |
-49:33:49.5 |
HIP 51580 |
9.82 |
| 2026-06-05 12:00 |
10:31:23.58 |
-49:33:04.3 |
HIP 51580 |
9.26 |
| 2026-06-06 00:00 |
10:31:24.07 |
-49:32:19.2 |
HIP 51580 |
8.73 |
| 2026-06-06 12:00 |
10:31:24.59 |
-49:31:34.3 |
HIP 51580 |
8.23 |
| 2026-06-07 00:00 |
10:31:25.16 |
-49:30:49.5 |
HIP 51580 |
7.77 |
| 2026-06-07 12:00 |
10:31:25.76 |
-49:30:04.9 |
HIP 51580 |
7.34 |
| 2026-06-08 00:00 |
10:31:26.41 |
-49:29:20.5 |
HIP 51580 |
6.97 |
| 2026-06-08 12:00 |
10:31:27.10 |
-49:28:36.2 |
HIP 51580 |
6.66 |
| 2026-06-09 00:00 |
10:31:27.82 |
-49:27:52.1 |
HIP 51580 |
6.41 |
| 2026-06-09 12:00 |
10:31:28.59 |
-49:27:08.2 |
HIP 51580 |
6.23 |
| 2026-06-10 00:00 |
10:31:29.40 |
-49:26:24.4 |
HIP 51580 |
6.14 |
| 2026-06-10 12:00 |
10:31:30.24 |
-49:25:40.9 |
HIP 51580 |
6.12 |
| 2026-06-11 00:00 |
10:31:31.13 |
-49:24:57.5 |
HIP 51580 |
6.19 |
| 2026-06-11 12:00 |
10:31:32.06 |
-49:24:14.3 |
HIP 51580 |
6.33 |
| 2026-06-12 00:00 |
10:31:33.02 |
-49:23:31.2 |
HIP 51580 |
6.55 |
| 2026-06-12 12:00 |
10:31:34.03 |
-49:22:48.4 |
HIP 51580 |
6.83 |
| 2026-06-13 00:00 |
10:31:35.07 |
-49:22:05.8 |
HIP 51580 |
7.17 |
| 2026-06-13 12:00 |
10:31:36.15 |
-49:21:23.3 |
HIP 51580 |
7.56 |
| 2026-06-14 00:00 |
10:31:37.28 |
-49:20:41.1 |
HIP 51580 |
7.99 |
| 2026-06-14 12:00 |
10:31:38.44 |
-49:19:59.1 |
HIP 51580 |
8.45 |
| 2026-06-15 00:00 |
10:31:39.64 |
-49:19:17.2 |
HIP 51580 |
8.94 |
| 2026-06-15 12:00 |
10:31:40.88 |
-49:18:35.6 |
HIP 51580 |
9.46 |
| 2026-06-16 00:00 |
10:31:42.16 |
-49:17:54.2 |
HIP 51580 |
10.00 |
| 2026-06-16 12:00 |
10:31:43.47 |
-49:17:13.0 |
HIP 51580 |
10.55 |
| 2026-06-17 00:00 |
10:31:44.82 |
-49:16:32.0 |
HIP 51580 |
11.11 |
| 2026-06-17 12:00 |
10:31:46.22 |
-49:15:51.3 |
HIP 51580 |
11.69 |
| 2026-06-18 00:00 |
10:31:47.64 |
-49:15:10.7 |
HIP 51580 |
12.28 |
| 2026-06-18 12:00 |
10:31:49.11 |
-49:14:30.4 |
HIP 51580 |
12.87 |
| 2026-06-19 00:00 |
10:31:50.62 |
-49:13:50.3 |
HIP 51580 |
13.48 |
| 2026-06-19 12:00 |
10:31:52.16 |
-49:13:10.5 |
HIP 51580 |
14.08 |
| 2026-06-20 00:00 |
10:31:53.73 |
-49:12:30.8 |
HIP 51580 |
14.69 |
| 2026-06-20 12:00 |
10:31:55.35 |
-49:11:51.4 |
HIP 51580 |
15.31 |
| 2026-06-21 00:00 |
10:31:57.00 |
-49:11:12.3 |
HIP 51580 |
15.93 |
| 2026-06-21 12:00 |
10:31:58.69 |
-49:10:33.4 |
HIP 51580 |
16.55 |
| 2026-06-22 00:00 |
10:32:00.41 |
-49:09:54.7 |
HIP 51580 |
17.17 |