| 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) |
| 2026-09-20 00:00 |
10:43:06.70 |
-48:40:13.6 |
HIP 52426 |
3.07 |
| 2026-09-20 12:00 |
10:43:10.90 |
-48:40:34.3 |
HIP 52426 |
3.55 |
| 2026-09-21 00:00 |
10:43:15.08 |
-48:40:55.4 |
HIP 52426 |
4.12 |
| 2026-09-21 12:00 |
10:43:19.24 |
-48:41:16.7 |
HIP 52426 |
4.75 |
| 2026-09-22 00:00 |
10:43:23.40 |
-48:41:38.4 |
HIP 52426 |
5.42 |
| 2026-09-22 12:00 |
10:43:27.54 |
-48:42:00.3 |
HIP 52426 |
6.12 |
| 2026-09-23 00:00 |
10:43:31.67 |
-48:42:22.5 |
HIP 52426 |
6.84 |
| 2026-09-23 12:00 |
10:43:35.78 |
-48:42:45.1 |
HIP 52426 |
7.57 |
| 2026-09-24 00:00 |
10:43:39.88 |
-48:43:07.9 |
HIP 52426 |
8.31 |
| 2026-09-24 12:00 |
10:43:43.97 |
-48:43:31.0 |
HIP 52426 |
9.06 |
| 2026-09-25 00:00 |
10:43:48.04 |
-48:43:54.4 |
HIP 52426 |
9.81 |
| 2026-09-25 12:00 |
10:43:52.10 |
-48:44:18.0 |
HIP 52503 |
9.82 |
| 2026-09-26 00:00 |
10:43:56.14 |
-48:44:42.0 |
HIP 52503 |
9.28 |
| 2026-09-26 12:00 |
10:44:00.17 |
-48:45:06.2 |
HIP 52503 |
8.78 |
| 2026-09-27 00:00 |
10:44:04.18 |
-48:45:30.8 |
HIP 52503 |
8.31 |
| 2026-09-27 12:00 |
10:44:08.17 |
-48:45:55.5 |
HIP 52503 |
7.88 |
| 2026-09-28 00:00 |
10:44:12.15 |
-48:46:20.6 |
HIP 52503 |
7.50 |
| 2026-09-28 12:00 |
10:44:16.11 |
-48:46:46.0 |
HIP 52503 |
7.19 |
| 2026-09-29 00:00 |
10:44:20.06 |
-48:47:11.6 |
HIP 52503 |
6.94 |
| 2026-09-29 12:00 |
10:44:23.99 |
-48:47:37.5 |
HIP 52503 |
6.77 |
| 2026-09-30 00:00 |
10:44:27.90 |
-48:48:03.7 |
HIP 52503 |
6.67 |
| 2026-09-30 12:00 |
10:44:31.80 |
-48:48:30.1 |
HIP 52503 |
6.67 |
| 2026-10-01 00:00 |
10:44:35.67 |
-48:48:56.8 |
HIP 52503 |
6.74 |
| 2026-10-01 12:00 |
10:44:39.53 |
-48:49:23.8 |
HIP 52503 |
6.90 |
| 2026-10-02 00:00 |
10:44:43.37 |
-48:49:51.0 |
HIP 52503 |
7.14 |
| 2026-10-02 12:00 |
10:44:47.19 |
-48:50:18.6 |
HIP 52503 |
7.44 |
| 2026-10-03 00:00 |
10:44:51.00 |
-48:50:46.3 |
HIP 52503 |
7.81 |
| 2026-10-03 12:00 |
10:44:54.78 |
-48:51:14.3 |
HIP 52503 |
8.23 |
| 2026-10-04 00:00 |
10:44:58.54 |
-48:51:42.6 |
HIP 52503 |
8.69 |
| 2026-10-04 12:00 |
10:45:02.29 |
-48:52:11.2 |
HIP 52503 |
9.20 |
| 2026-10-05 00:00 |
10:45:06.01 |
-48:52:40.0 |
HIP 52503 |
9.73 |
| 2026-10-05 12:00 |
10:45:09.72 |
-48:53:09.0 |
HIP 52503 |
10.29 |
| 2026-10-06 00:00 |
10:45:13.40 |
-48:53:38.3 |
HIP 52503 |
10.88 |
| 2026-10-06 12:00 |
10:45:17.06 |
-48:54:07.9 |
HIP 52503 |
11.48 |
| 2026-10-07 00:00 |
10:45:20.71 |
-48:54:37.7 |
HIP 52503 |
12.10 |
| 2026-10-07 12:00 |
10:45:24.33 |
-48:55:07.7 |
HIP 52503 |
12.74 |
| 2026-10-08 00:00 |
10:45:27.92 |
-48:55:38.0 |
HIP 52503 |
13.38 |
| 2026-10-08 12:00 |
10:45:31.50 |
-48:56:08.5 |
HIP 52503 |
14.04 |
| 2026-10-09 00:00 |
10:45:35.05 |
-48:56:39.3 |
HIP 52503 |
14.71 |
| 2026-10-09 12:00 |
10:45:38.58 |
-48:57:10.3 |
HIP 52503 |
15.38 |
| 2026-10-10 00:00 |
10:45:42.09 |
-48:57:41.5 |
HIP 52734 |
14.67 |
| 2026-10-10 12:00 |
10:45:45.58 |
-48:58:13.0 |
HIP 52734 |
13.89 |
| 2026-10-11 00:00 |
10:45:49.04 |
-48:58:44.7 |
HIP 52734 |
13.12 |