C/2012 A2 (LINEAR)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2012 A2 (LINEAR)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2012-11-05T02:25:12.688320Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-04-15T23:31:59Z
Obs used 2643
NEO -
M1 10.600
K1 5.500
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2012-12-02.0000000
e 0.99638777
q (au) 3.537475
a (au) 979.305586
i (deg) 125.868477
Ω (om, deg) 191.404772
ω (w, deg) 101.672043
M (ma, deg) 0.000865

Magnitude

C/2012 A2 (LINEAR) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (8.126 + 3.455\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 8.126
n 3.455
gf 1.000
gb -0.897
k 0.999
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
2011-04-02 2012-11-04 +17.9825 -10.877
2012-11-06 2013-09-27 -3.7538 +1.934
2013-09-27 2014-04-15 -2.2574 +1.298
2014-04-15 2014-10-23 +11.5349 -9.101

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 23:33:25.95 -55:05:13.1 HIP 116373 13.40
2026-07-29 12:00 23:33:21.14 -55:06:03.9 HIP 116373 13.72
2026-07-30 00:00 23:33:16.29 -55:06:54.6 HIP 116373 14.14
2026-07-30 12:00 23:33:11.39 -55:07:45.0 HIP 116373 14.63
2026-07-31 00:00 23:33:06.45 -55:08:35.3 HIP 116373 15.18
2026-07-31 12:00 23:33:01.46 -55:09:25.3 HIP 116373 15.80
2026-08-01 00:00 23:32:56.43 -55:10:15.1 HIP 116373 16.48
2026-08-01 12:00 23:32:51.36 -55:11:04.7 HIP 116373 17.20
2026-08-02 00:00 23:32:46.25 -55:11:54.0 HIP 116373 17.97
2026-08-02 12:00 23:32:41.10 -55:12:43.1 HIP 116373 18.78
2026-08-03 00:00 23:32:35.91 -55:13:32.0 HIP 116373 19.62
2026-08-03 12:00 23:32:30.67 -55:14:20.7 HIP 116373 20.48
2026-08-04 00:00 23:32:25.39 -55:15:09.1 HIP 116373 21.38
2026-08-04 12:00 23:32:20.08 -55:15:57.3 HIP 116373 22.30
2026-08-05 00:00 23:32:14.72 -55:16:45.2 HIP 116373 23.23
2026-08-05 12:00 23:32:09.32 -55:17:32.9 HIP 116373 24.19
2026-08-06 00:00 23:32:03.89 -55:18:20.4 HIP 116373 25.16
2026-08-06 12:00 23:31:58.41 -55:19:07.5 HIP 116373 26.15
2026-08-07 00:00 23:31:52.90 -55:19:54.5 HIP 116373 27.15
2026-08-07 12:00 23:31:47.35 -55:20:41.1 HIP 116373 28.16
2026-08-08 00:00 23:31:41.76 -55:21:27.5 HIP 116373 29.18
2026-08-08 12:00 23:31:36.13 -55:22:13.6 HIP 116373 30.20
2026-08-09 00:00 23:31:30.46 -55:22:59.4 HIP 116373 31.24
2026-08-09 12:00 23:31:24.76 -55:23:45.0 HIP 116373 32.29
2026-08-10 00:00 23:31:19.02 -55:24:30.3 HIP 116373 33.34
2026-08-10 12:00 23:31:13.25 -55:25:15.2 HIP 115890 33.08
2026-08-11 00:00 23:31:07.44 -55:26:00.0 HIP 115890 31.98
2026-08-11 12:00 23:31:01.59 -55:26:44.3 HIP 115890 30.89
2026-08-12 00:00 23:30:55.71 -55:27:28.4 HIP 115890 29.80
2026-08-12 12:00 23:30:49.80 -55:28:12.2 HIP 115890 28.71
2026-08-13 00:00 23:30:43.85 -55:28:55.7 HIP 115890 27.62
2026-08-13 12:00 23:30:37.87 -55:29:38.9 HIP 115890 26.54
2026-08-14 00:00 23:30:31.86 -55:30:21.8 HIP 115890 25.46
2026-08-14 12:00 23:30:25.81 -55:31:04.3 HIP 115890 24.39
2026-08-15 00:00 23:30:19.73 -55:31:46.6 HIP 115890 23.32
2026-08-15 12:00 23:30:13.62 -55:32:28.5 HIP 115890 22.26
2026-08-16 00:00 23:30:07.48 -55:33:10.1 HIP 115890 21.21
2026-08-16 12:00 23:30:01.31 -55:33:51.3 HIP 115890 20.16
2026-08-17 00:00 23:29:55.11 -55:34:32.2 HIP 115890 19.12
2026-08-17 12:00 23:29:48.88 -55:35:12.8 HIP 115890 18.10
2026-08-18 00:00 23:29:42.63 -55:35:53.1 HIP 115890 17.09
2026-08-18 12:00 23:29:36.34 -55:36:33.0 HIP 115890 16.10
2026-08-19 00:00 23:29:30.03 -55:37:12.6 HIP 115890 15.12