C/2012 K6 (McNaught)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2012 K6 (McNaught)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2013-05-21T11:03:28.212480Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-04-15T23:32:10Z
Obs used 1091
NEO -
M1 8.900
K1 7.750
PC 0.030
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2013-12-31.0000000
e 0.99919878
q (au) 3.353032
a (au) 4184.883889
i (deg) 135.215103
Ω (om, deg) 206.898541
ω (w, deg) 338.826785
M (ma, deg) 0.000814

Magnitude

C/2012 K6 (McNaught) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (8.021 + 3.183\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 8.021
n 3.183
gf 0.997
gb -1.000
k 1.000
δ90 9.993
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
2012-04-20 2013-05-20 +12.1573 -6.871
2013-06-02 2014-01-30 -1.7355 +0.738
2014-01-30 2015-04-09 -2.5207 +1.571

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 04:49:35.68 +59:42:25.3 HIP 22434 8.47
2026-06-01 12:00 04:49:42.99 +59:42:25.7 HIP 22434 8.45
2026-06-02 00:00 04:49:50.30 +59:42:26.5 HIP 22434 8.54
2026-06-02 12:00 04:49:57.62 +59:42:27.5 HIP 22434 8.73
2026-06-03 00:00 04:50:04.93 +59:42:28.8 HIP 22434 9.01
2026-06-03 12:00 04:50:12.25 +59:42:30.4 HIP 22434 9.39
2026-06-04 00:00 04:50:19.57 +59:42:32.2 HIP 22434 9.84
2026-06-04 12:00 04:50:26.88 +59:42:34.4 HIP 22434 10.35
2026-06-05 00:00 04:50:34.20 +59:42:36.8 HIP 22434 10.93
2026-06-05 12:00 04:50:41.52 +59:42:39.5 HIP 22434 11.55
2026-06-06 00:00 04:50:48.83 +59:42:42.5 HIP 22434 12.22
2026-06-06 12:00 04:50:56.15 +59:42:45.8 HIP 22434 12.92
2026-06-07 00:00 04:51:03.46 +59:42:49.4 HIP 22434 13.65
2026-06-07 12:00 04:51:10.76 +59:42:53.3 HIP 22434 14.40
2026-06-08 00:00 04:51:18.07 +59:42:57.4 HIP 22434 15.18
2026-06-08 12:00 04:51:25.37 +59:43:01.8 HIP 22434 15.97
2026-06-09 00:00 04:51:32.67 +59:43:06.5 HIP 22434 16.78
2026-06-09 12:00 04:51:39.96 +59:43:11.5 HIP 22434 17.61
2026-06-10 00:00 04:51:47.25 +59:43:16.7 HIP 22434 18.44
2026-06-10 12:00 04:51:54.53 +59:43:22.3 HIP 22434 19.29
2026-06-11 00:00 04:52:01.81 +59:43:28.1 HIP 22434 20.14
2026-06-11 12:00 04:52:09.08 +59:43:34.2 HIP 22434 21.00
2026-06-12 00:00 04:52:16.34 +59:43:40.5 HIP 22434 21.87
2026-06-12 12:00 04:52:23.60 +59:43:47.2 HIP 22434 22.74
2026-06-13 00:00 04:52:30.85 +59:43:54.1 HIP 22434 23.62
2026-06-13 12:00 04:52:38.09 +59:44:01.3 HIP 22434 24.50
2026-06-14 00:00 04:52:45.32 +59:44:08.8 HIP 22434 25.38
2026-06-14 12:00 04:52:52.54 +59:44:16.6 HIP 22434 26.27
2026-06-15 00:00 04:52:59.75 +59:44:24.6 HIP 22434 27.16
2026-06-15 12:00 04:53:06.96 +59:44:32.9 HIP 22434 28.06
2026-06-16 00:00 04:53:14.15 +59:44:41.5 HIP 22434 28.95
2026-06-16 12:00 04:53:21.33 +59:44:50.3 HIP 22434 29.85
2026-06-17 00:00 04:53:28.49 +59:44:59.4 HIP 22434 30.75
2026-06-17 12:00 04:53:35.65 +59:45:08.8 HIP 22434 31.64
2026-06-18 00:00 04:53:42.79 +59:45:18.5 HIP 22434 32.54
2026-06-18 12:00 04:53:49.92 +59:45:28.4 HIP 22434 33.44
2026-06-19 00:00 04:53:57.03 +59:45:38.6 HIP 22434 34.35
2026-06-19 12:00 04:54:04.13 +59:45:49.0 HIP 22434 35.25
2026-06-20 00:00 04:54:11.22 +59:45:59.8 HIP 22434 36.15
2026-06-20 12:00 04:54:18.29 +59:46:10.8 HIP 22434 37.05
2026-06-21 00:00 04:54:25.34 +59:46:22.0 HIP 22434 37.95
2026-06-21 12:00 04:54:32.38 +59:46:33.5 HIP 22434 38.85
2026-06-22 00:00 04:54:39.40 +59:46:45.3 HIP 22434 39.75