C/2016 Q4 (Kowalski)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2016 Q4 (Kowalski)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2018-01-28T02:33:30.335040Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2023-05-30T09:33:32Z
Obs used 80
NEO -
M1 12.100
K1 4.500
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2017-02-13.0000000
e 0.57828825
q (au) 7.084079
a (au) 16.798390
i (deg) 7.256882
Ω (om, deg) 271.330245
ω (w, deg) 99.469482
M (ma, deg) 355.002410

Magnitude

C/2016 Q4 (Kowalski) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (11.384 + 2.042\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 11.384
n 2.042
gf 0.811
gb -0.979
k 1.000
δ90 1.534
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-09-20 00:00 08:37:13.28 +14:33:18.0 HIP 42331 10.11
2026-09-20 12:00 08:37:19.73 +14:32:44.7 HIP 42331 8.48
2026-09-21 00:00 08:37:26.13 +14:32:11.4 HIP 42331 6.88
2026-09-21 12:00 08:37:32.49 +14:31:38.3 HIP 42331 5.31
2026-09-22 00:00 08:37:38.79 +14:31:05.3 HIP 42331 3.80
2026-09-22 12:00 08:37:45.05 +14:30:32.4 HIP 42331 2.45
2026-09-23 00:00 08:37:51.26 +14:29:59.6 HIP 42331 1.66
2026-09-23 12:00 08:37:57.43 +14:29:27.0 HIP 42331 2.14
2026-09-24 00:00 08:38:03.54 +14:28:54.5 HIP 42331 3.37
2026-09-24 12:00 08:38:09.60 +14:28:22.1 HIP 42331 4.80
2026-09-25 00:00 08:38:15.62 +14:27:49.8 HIP 42331 6.28
2026-09-25 12:00 08:38:21.59 +14:27:17.7 HIP 42331 7.78
2026-09-26 00:00 08:38:27.50 +14:26:45.7 HIP 42331 9.27
2026-09-26 12:00 08:38:33.37 +14:26:13.8 HIP 42331 10.77
2026-09-27 00:00 08:38:39.19 +14:25:42.1 HIP 42331 12.26
2026-09-27 12:00 08:38:44.95 +14:25:10.5 HIP 42331 13.74
2026-09-28 00:00 08:38:50.67 +14:24:39.0 HIP 42331 15.20
2026-09-28 12:00 08:38:56.33 +14:24:07.7 HIP 42331 16.66
2026-09-29 00:00 08:39:01.94 +14:23:36.5 HIP 42331 18.11
2026-09-29 12:00 08:39:07.50 +14:23:05.5 HIP 42331 19.54
2026-09-30 00:00 08:39:13.00 +14:22:34.6 HIP 42566 20.22
2026-09-30 12:00 08:39:18.46 +14:22:03.8 HIP 42566 18.91
2026-10-01 00:00 08:39:23.86 +14:21:33.2 HIP 42566 17.63
2026-10-01 12:00 08:39:29.21 +14:21:02.8 HIP 42566 16.39
2026-10-02 00:00 08:39:34.50 +14:20:32.5 HIP 42566 15.18
2026-10-02 12:00 08:39:39.74 +14:20:02.4 HIP 42566 14.01
2026-10-03 00:00 08:39:44.93 +14:19:32.4 HIP 42566 12.89
2026-10-03 12:00 08:39:50.06 +14:19:02.6 HIP 42566 11.84
2026-10-04 00:00 08:39:55.13 +14:18:32.9 HIP 42566 10.86
2026-10-04 12:00 08:40:00.15 +14:18:03.4 HIP 42566 9.97
2026-10-05 00:00 08:40:05.12 +14:17:34.1 HIP 42566 9.19
2026-10-05 12:00 08:40:10.03 +14:17:04.9 HIP 42566 8.55
2026-10-06 00:00 08:40:14.88 +14:16:35.9 HIP 42566 8.07
2026-10-06 12:00 08:40:19.68 +14:16:07.1 HIP 42566 7.77
2026-10-07 00:00 08:40:24.42 +14:15:38.4 HIP 42566 7.68
2026-10-07 12:00 08:40:29.10 +14:15:10.0 HIP 42566 7.78
2026-10-08 00:00 08:40:33.72 +14:14:41.7 HIP 42566 8.07
2026-10-08 12:00 08:40:38.29 +14:14:13.5 HIP 42566 8.52
2026-10-09 00:00 08:40:42.79 +14:13:45.6 HIP 42566 9.11
2026-10-09 12:00 08:40:47.24 +14:13:17.9 HIP 42566 9.79
2026-10-10 00:00 08:40:51.63 +14:12:50.3 HIP 42566 10.56
2026-10-10 12:00 08:40:55.96 +14:12:22.9 HIP 42566 11.38
2026-10-11 00:00 08:41:00.23 +14:11:55.7 HIP 42566 12.24