C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2020-08-04T17:10:46.476480Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-07-01T22:12:49Z
Obs used 87
NEO -
M1 7.000
K1 9.250
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2020-05-21T13:39:44.841600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.56 w
Discovery observatory (MPC) F52 · Pan-STARRS 2, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2020-07-25.0000000
e 1.00129323
q (au) 8.878219
a (au) -6865.139277
i (deg) 91.035953
Ω (om, deg) 288.338902
ω (w, deg) 67.272622
M (ma, deg) -0.000019

Magnitude

C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (7.933 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 7.933
n 6.000
gf 0.999
gb -1.000
k 0.801
δ90 9.160
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)
2026-07-29 00:00 07:58:25.88 +53:20:24.8 HIP 39092 12.76
2026-07-29 12:00 07:58:36.96 +53:19:45.6 HIP 39092 11.27
2026-07-30 00:00 07:58:48.03 +53:19:06.9 HIP 39092 9.87
2026-07-30 12:00 07:58:59.06 +53:18:28.7 HIP 39092 8.60
2026-07-31 00:00 07:59:10.08 +53:17:51.0 HIP 39092 7.54
2026-07-31 12:00 07:59:21.08 +53:17:13.7 HIP 39092 6.76
2026-08-01 00:00 07:59:32.05 +53:16:36.9 HIP 39092 6.39
2026-08-01 12:00 07:59:43.00 +53:16:00.5 HIP 39092 6.47
2026-08-02 00:00 07:59:53.92 +53:15:24.6 HIP 39092 6.99
2026-08-02 12:00 08:00:04.82 +53:14:49.2 HIP 39092 7.87
2026-08-03 00:00 08:00:15.69 +53:14:14.2 HIP 39092 8.98
2026-08-03 12:00 08:00:26.54 +53:13:39.7 HIP 39092 10.26
2026-08-04 00:00 08:00:37.36 +53:13:05.6 HIP 39092 11.64
2026-08-04 12:00 08:00:48.15 +53:12:32.1 HIP 39092 13.10
2026-08-05 00:00 08:00:58.92 +53:11:59.0 HIP 39092 14.60
2026-08-05 12:00 08:01:09.66 +53:11:26.3 HIP 39092 16.13
2026-08-06 00:00 08:01:20.37 +53:10:54.2 HIP 39092 17.68
2026-08-06 12:00 08:01:31.05 +53:10:22.5 HIP 39092 19.25
2026-08-07 00:00 08:01:41.70 +53:09:51.3 HIP 39432 17.86
2026-08-07 12:00 08:01:52.32 +53:09:20.5 HIP 39432 16.38
2026-08-08 00:00 08:02:02.90 +53:08:50.3 HIP 39432 14.94
2026-08-08 12:00 08:02:13.46 +53:08:20.5 HIP 39432 13.56
2026-08-09 00:00 08:02:23.98 +53:07:51.2 HIP 39432 12.25
2026-08-09 12:00 08:02:34.47 +53:07:22.3 HIP 39432 11.03
2026-08-10 00:00 08:02:44.93 +53:06:53.9 HIP 39432 9.93
2026-08-10 12:00 08:02:55.35 +53:06:26.1 HIP 39432 8.99
2026-08-11 00:00 08:03:05.73 +53:05:58.6 HIP 39432 8.26
2026-08-11 12:00 08:03:16.08 +53:05:31.7 HIP 39432 7.81
2026-08-12 00:00 08:03:26.39 +53:05:05.3 HIP 39432 7.67
2026-08-12 12:00 08:03:36.67 +53:04:39.3 HIP 39432 7.85
2026-08-13 00:00 08:03:46.90 +53:04:13.8 HIP 39432 8.34
2026-08-13 12:00 08:03:57.10 +53:03:48.8 HIP 39432 9.07
2026-08-14 00:00 08:04:07.26 +53:03:24.3 HIP 39432 9.99
2026-08-14 12:00 08:04:17.38 +53:03:00.2 HIP 39432 11.05
2026-08-15 00:00 08:04:27.46 +53:02:36.6 HIP 39432 12.22
2026-08-15 12:00 08:04:37.49 +53:02:13.5 HIP 39432 13.45
2026-08-16 00:00 08:04:47.49 +53:01:50.9 HIP 39432 14.73
2026-08-16 12:00 08:04:57.44 +53:01:28.8 HIP 39432 16.05
2026-08-17 00:00 08:05:07.35 +53:01:07.2 HIP 39432 17.40
2026-08-17 12:00 08:05:17.21 +53:00:46.0 HIP 39432 18.76
2026-08-18 00:00 08:05:27.03 +53:00:25.3 HIP 39432 20.14
2026-08-18 12:00 08:05:36.80 +53:00:05.1 HIP 39432 21.53
2026-08-19 00:00 08:05:46.53 +52:59:45.4 HIP 39432 22.92