C/2018 A6 (Gibbs)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2018 A6 (Gibbs)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2019-07-14T07:12:03.481920Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-05-30T01:12:17Z
Obs used 915
NEO -
M1 9.700
K1 7.250
PC -
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2019-12-10.0000000
e 0.80342745
q (au) 3.017827
a (au) 15.352231
i (deg) 76.954875
Ω (om, deg) 340.386138
ω (w, deg) 264.536453
M (ma, deg) 2.436451

Magnitude

C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (6.874 + 3.973\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 6.874
n 3.973
gf 1.000
gb -0.500
k 1.000
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
2017-04-03 2018-02-13 -4.4374 +4.270
2018-02-13 2019-07-08 +5.4711 -3.199
2019-07-20 2020-06-07 +11.2381 -6.514
2020-06-07 2021-10-03 -7.5580 +5.191
2021-10-03 2023-10-19 -7.6929 +5.633

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 22:21:27.97 +41:45:38.8 HIP 110373 2.51
2026-07-29 12:00 22:21:18.63 +41:46:16.0 HIP 110373 1.60
2026-07-30 00:00 22:21:09.24 +41:46:52.3 HIP 110373 2.40
2026-07-30 12:00 22:20:59.80 +41:47:27.8 HIP 110373 3.99
2026-07-31 00:00 22:20:50.32 +41:48:02.5 HIP 110373 5.75
2026-07-31 12:00 22:20:40.80 +41:48:36.2 HIP 110373 7.56
2026-08-01 00:00 22:20:31.24 +41:49:09.1 HIP 110373 9.39
2026-08-01 12:00 22:20:21.63 +41:49:41.2 HIP 110373 11.24
2026-08-02 00:00 22:20:11.98 +41:50:12.4 HIP 110373 13.11
2026-08-02 12:00 22:20:02.30 +41:50:42.7 HIP 110373 14.97
2026-08-03 00:00 22:19:52.57 +41:51:12.1 HIP 110373 16.84
2026-08-03 12:00 22:19:42.80 +41:51:40.7 HIP 110373 18.72
2026-08-04 00:00 22:19:33.00 +41:52:08.4 HIP 110155 18.61
2026-08-04 12:00 22:19:23.15 +41:52:35.2 HIP 110155 17.41
2026-08-05 00:00 22:19:13.27 +41:53:01.1 HIP 110155 16.35
2026-08-05 12:00 22:19:03.36 +41:53:26.1 HIP 110155 15.47
2026-08-06 00:00 22:18:53.41 +41:53:50.2 HIP 110155 14.79
2026-08-06 12:00 22:18:43.42 +41:54:13.5 HIP 110155 14.34
2026-08-07 00:00 22:18:33.41 +41:54:35.9 HIP 110155 14.15
2026-08-07 12:00 22:18:23.36 +41:54:57.3 HIP 110155 14.23
2026-08-08 00:00 22:18:13.27 +41:55:17.9 HIP 110155 14.57
2026-08-08 12:00 22:18:03.16 +41:55:37.6 HIP 110155 15.17
2026-08-09 00:00 22:17:53.02 +41:55:56.3 HIP 110155 15.98
2026-08-09 12:00 22:17:42.85 +41:56:14.2 HIP 110155 16.99
2026-08-10 00:00 22:17:32.64 +41:56:31.1 HIP 110155 18.16
2026-08-10 12:00 22:17:22.42 +41:56:47.2 HIP 110155 19.45
2026-08-11 00:00 22:17:12.16 +41:57:02.3 HIP 110155 20.86
2026-08-11 12:00 22:17:01.88 +41:57:16.6 HIP 110155 22.36
2026-08-12 00:00 22:16:51.58 +41:57:29.9 HIP 110155 23.92
2026-08-12 12:00 22:16:41.25 +41:57:42.3 HIP 110155 25.55
2026-08-13 00:00 22:16:30.90 +41:57:53.8 HIP 109800 25.25
2026-08-13 12:00 22:16:20.53 +41:58:04.4 HIP 109800 23.37
2026-08-14 00:00 22:16:10.13 +41:58:14.1 HIP 109800 21.51
2026-08-14 12:00 22:15:59.72 +41:58:22.8 HIP 109800 19.66
2026-08-15 00:00 22:15:49.29 +41:58:30.7 HIP 109800 17.84
2026-08-15 12:00 22:15:38.84 +41:58:37.6 HIP 109800 16.04
2026-08-16 00:00 22:15:28.38 +41:58:43.6 HIP 109800 14.30
2026-08-16 12:00 22:15:17.89 +41:58:48.8 HIP 109800 12.61
2026-08-17 00:00 22:15:07.40 +41:58:53.0 HIP 109800 11.03
2026-08-17 12:00 22:14:56.89 +41:58:56.3 HIP 109800 9.58
2026-08-18 00:00 22:14:46.36 +41:58:58.7 HIP 109800 8.36
2026-08-18 12:00 22:14:35.83 +41:59:00.1 HIP 109800 7.47
2026-08-19 00:00 22:14:25.28 +41:59:00.7 HIP 109800 7.05