C/2016 N6 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2016 N6 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2018-07-18T04:53:54.179520Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-04-15T23:33:26Z
Obs used 3071
NEO -
M1 6.800
K1 10.250
PC 0.030
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2018-02-01.0000000
e 0.99865186
q (au) 2.669116
a (au) 1979.851996
i (deg) 105.830421
Ω (om, deg) 298.977675
ω (w, deg) 162.803199
M (ma, deg) 359.998129

Magnitude

C/2016 N6 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (9.902 + 3.333\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 9.902
n 3.333
gf 1.000
gb -0.687
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
2016-06-27 2016-10-28 +38.9146 -31.451
2016-10-28 2018-06-20 +1.1594 -0.936
2018-08-28 2019-01-14 +13.3133 -6.770
2019-01-14 2020-12-12 -0.7531 +0.155

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 00:37:11.61 -64:04:25.4 HIP 2933 15.21
2026-07-29 12:00 00:37:04.41 -64:05:43.0 HIP 2933 16.53
2026-07-30 00:00 00:36:57.10 -64:07:00.4 HIP 2933 17.88
2026-07-30 12:00 00:36:49.69 -64:08:17.5 HIP 2933 19.25
2026-07-31 00:00 00:36:42.18 -64:09:34.4 HIP 2933 20.64
2026-07-31 12:00 00:36:34.56 -64:10:51.1 HIP 2933 22.05
2026-08-01 00:00 00:36:26.83 -64:12:07.5 HIP 2933 23.47
2026-08-01 12:00 00:36:19.01 -64:13:23.6 HIP 2933 24.90
2026-08-02 00:00 00:36:11.07 -64:14:39.4 HIP 2933 26.34
2026-08-02 12:00 00:36:03.04 -64:15:55.0 HIP 2933 27.79
2026-08-03 00:00 00:35:54.90 -64:17:10.2 HIP 2614 28.84
2026-08-03 12:00 00:35:46.66 -64:18:25.2 HIP 2869 28.60
2026-08-04 00:00 00:35:38.32 -64:19:39.8 HIP 2869 27.50
2026-08-04 12:00 00:35:29.87 -64:20:54.2 HIP 2869 26.46
2026-08-05 00:00 00:35:21.33 -64:22:08.2 HIP 2869 25.48
2026-08-05 12:00 00:35:12.68 -64:23:22.0 HIP 2869 24.56
2026-08-06 00:00 00:35:03.93 -64:24:35.3 HIP 2869 23.72
2026-08-06 12:00 00:34:55.08 -64:25:48.4 HIP 2869 22.95
2026-08-07 00:00 00:34:46.12 -64:27:01.1 HIP 2869 22.28
2026-08-07 12:00 00:34:37.07 -64:28:13.4 HIP 2869 21.71
2026-08-08 00:00 00:34:27.92 -64:29:25.4 HIP 2869 21.24
2026-08-08 12:00 00:34:18.67 -64:30:37.1 HIP 2869 20.89
2026-08-09 00:00 00:34:09.32 -64:31:48.3 HIP 2869 20.66
2026-08-09 12:00 00:33:59.87 -64:32:59.2 HIP 2869 20.56
2026-08-10 00:00 00:33:50.32 -64:34:09.7 HIP 2869 20.59
2026-08-10 12:00 00:33:40.68 -64:35:19.8 HIP 2869 20.74
2026-08-11 00:00 00:33:30.94 -64:36:29.5 HIP 2869 21.02
2026-08-11 12:00 00:33:21.10 -64:37:38.8 HIP 2869 21.42
2026-08-12 00:00 00:33:11.16 -64:38:47.6 HIP 2869 21.94
2026-08-12 12:00 00:33:01.13 -64:39:56.1 HIP 2869 22.56
2026-08-13 00:00 00:32:51.01 -64:41:04.1 HIP 2869 23.29
2026-08-13 12:00 00:32:40.79 -64:42:11.7 HIP 2869 24.10
2026-08-14 00:00 00:32:30.48 -64:43:18.8 HIP 2869 24.99
2026-08-14 12:00 00:32:20.08 -64:44:25.5 HIP 2234 25.64
2026-08-15 00:00 00:32:09.58 -64:45:31.7 HIP 2234 24.57
2026-08-15 12:00 00:31:58.99 -64:46:37.5 HIP 2234 23.54
2026-08-16 00:00 00:31:48.32 -64:47:42.8 HIP 2234 22.57
2026-08-16 12:00 00:31:37.55 -64:48:47.6 HIP 2234 21.66
2026-08-17 00:00 00:31:26.69 -64:49:51.9 HIP 2234 20.82
2026-08-17 12:00 00:31:15.75 -64:50:55.7 HIP 2234 20.05
2026-08-18 00:00 00:31:04.71 -64:51:59.1 HIP 2234 19.38
2026-08-18 12:00 00:30:53.60 -64:53:01.9 HIP 2234 18.80
2026-08-19 00:00 00:30:42.39 -64:54:04.2 HIP 2234 18.33