C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2015-01-30T01:39:43.165440Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2026-03-07T14:42:53Z
Obs used 7892
NEO -
M1 9.800
K1 4.750
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2015-03-30.0000000
e 0.99777385
q (au) 1.290358
a (au) 579.637230
i (deg) 80.301302
Ω (om, deg) 94.975059
ω (w, deg) 12.395262
M (ma, deg) 0.004162

Magnitude

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (9.166 + 2.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 9.166
n 2.000
gf 0.800
gb -0.500
k 0.870
δ90 1.000
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
2014-07-01 2015-01-30 +10.9131 -2.182
2015-01-30 2016-09-10 +4.9291 -3.119

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 18:14:44.15 -10:35:29.3 HIP 89377 7.41
2026-06-01 12:00 18:14:40.01 -10:35:29.0 HIP 89377 6.73
2026-06-02 00:00 18:14:35.84 -10:35:28.9 HIP 89377 6.14
2026-06-02 12:00 18:14:31.67 -10:35:28.8 HIP 89377 5.68
2026-06-03 00:00 18:14:27.48 -10:35:28.9 HIP 89377 5.36
2026-06-03 12:00 18:14:23.27 -10:35:29.1 HIP 89377 5.23
2026-06-04 00:00 18:14:19.06 -10:35:29.4 HIP 89377 5.31
2026-06-04 12:00 18:14:14.82 -10:35:29.9 HIP 89377 5.57
2026-06-05 00:00 18:14:10.58 -10:35:30.4 HIP 89377 6.01
2026-06-05 12:00 18:14:06.32 -10:35:31.1 HIP 89377 6.58
2026-06-06 00:00 18:14:02.05 -10:35:31.9 HIP 89377 7.27
2026-06-06 12:00 18:13:57.77 -10:35:32.8 HIP 89377 8.03
2026-06-07 00:00 18:13:53.47 -10:35:33.9 HIP 89377 8.85
2026-06-07 12:00 18:13:49.16 -10:35:35.0 HIP 89377 9.72
2026-06-08 00:00 18:13:44.84 -10:35:36.3 HIP 89377 10.63
2026-06-08 12:00 18:13:40.51 -10:35:37.7 HIP 89377 11.56
2026-06-09 00:00 18:13:36.17 -10:35:39.2 HIP 89377 12.52
2026-06-09 12:00 18:13:31.82 -10:35:40.9 HIP 89377 13.49
2026-06-10 00:00 18:13:27.46 -10:35:42.6 HIP 89377 14.48
2026-06-10 12:00 18:13:23.09 -10:35:44.5 HIP 89377 15.48
2026-06-11 00:00 18:13:18.71 -10:35:46.5 HIP 89218 15.56
2026-06-11 12:00 18:13:14.32 -10:35:48.7 HIP 89218 14.63
2026-06-12 00:00 18:13:09.92 -10:35:50.9 HIP 89218 13.72
2026-06-12 12:00 18:13:05.51 -10:35:53.3 HIP 89218 12.83
2026-06-13 00:00 18:13:01.10 -10:35:55.8 HIP 89218 11.98
2026-06-13 12:00 18:12:56.68 -10:35:58.4 HIP 89218 11.16
2026-06-14 00:00 18:12:52.25 -10:36:01.2 HIP 89218 10.38
2026-06-14 12:00 18:12:47.81 -10:36:04.0 HIP 89218 9.67
2026-06-15 00:00 18:12:43.37 -10:36:07.0 HIP 89218 9.03
2026-06-15 12:00 18:12:38.92 -10:36:10.2 HIP 89218 8.47
2026-06-16 00:00 18:12:34.47 -10:36:13.4 HIP 89218 8.03
2026-06-16 12:00 18:12:30.01 -10:36:16.8 HIP 89218 7.72
2026-06-17 00:00 18:12:25.54 -10:36:20.2 HIP 89218 7.55
2026-06-17 12:00 18:12:21.07 -10:36:23.9 HIP 89218 7.54
2026-06-18 00:00 18:12:16.60 -10:36:27.6 HIP 89218 7.68
2026-06-18 12:00 18:12:12.13 -10:36:31.4 HIP 89218 7.98
2026-06-19 00:00 18:12:07.65 -10:36:35.4 HIP 89218 8.41
2026-06-19 12:00 18:12:03.16 -10:36:39.5 HIP 89218 8.95
2026-06-20 00:00 18:11:58.68 -10:36:43.7 HIP 89218 9.59
2026-06-20 12:00 18:11:54.19 -10:36:48.1 HIP 89218 10.31
2026-06-21 00:00 18:11:49.70 -10:36:52.6 HIP 89218 11.08
2026-06-21 12:00 18:11:45.21 -10:36:57.1 HIP 89218 11.92
2026-06-22 00:00 18:11:40.71 -10:37:01.9 HIP 89218 12.79