| Parameter |
Value |
| Designation |
C/2020 K8 (Catalina-ATLAS) |
| Type |
C |
| Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) |
2020-09-14T12:27:51.762240Z |
| Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) |
2021-05-31T22:42:54Z |
| Obs used |
291 |
| NEO |
- |
| M1 |
16.800 |
| K1 |
4.500 |
| PC |
0.030 |
| Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) |
2020-05-25T10:25:18.336000Z |
| Discovery magnitude (MPC) |
19.30 G |
| Discovery observatory (MPC) |
703 · University of Arizona Catalina Sky Survey |
Osculating Elements
| Parameter |
Value |
| Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) |
2020-07-13.0000000 |
| e |
1.00015223 |
| q (au) |
0.474575 |
| a (au) |
-3117.411049 |
| i (deg) |
31.413950 |
| Ω (om, deg) |
181.516792 |
| ω (w, deg) |
260.064417 |
| M (ma, deg) |
-0.000360 |
Magnitude
Scatter + Global Linear
$$
M_a = (17.114 + 2.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta
$$
$$
\theta = 180^\circ - \alpha
$$
$$
\Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b)
$$
$$
\Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1
$$
Model Parameters
| Parameter |
Value |
| H0 |
17.114 |
| n |
2.000 |
| gf |
0.800 |
| gb |
-0.706 |
| 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
Ephemeris
| Date/Time (UTC) |
RA (J2000) |
Dec (J2000) |
Nearest HIP |
Dist from HIP (arcmin) |
| 2026-09-20 00:00 |
15:58:31.61 |
+06:37:06.9 |
HIP 78390 |
28.08 |
| 2026-09-20 12:00 |
15:58:34.80 |
+06:36:21.0 |
HIP 78390 |
27.70 |
| 2026-09-21 00:00 |
15:58:38.05 |
+06:35:35.1 |
HIP 78390 |
27.34 |
| 2026-09-21 12:00 |
15:58:41.33 |
+06:34:49.4 |
HIP 78390 |
27.02 |
| 2026-09-22 00:00 |
15:58:44.66 |
+06:34:03.7 |
HIP 78390 |
26.73 |
| 2026-09-22 12:00 |
15:58:48.04 |
+06:33:18.1 |
HIP 78390 |
26.47 |
| 2026-09-23 00:00 |
15:58:51.45 |
+06:32:32.6 |
HIP 78390 |
26.25 |
| 2026-09-23 12:00 |
15:58:54.92 |
+06:31:47.1 |
HIP 78390 |
26.07 |
| 2026-09-24 00:00 |
15:58:58.42 |
+06:31:01.8 |
HIP 78390 |
25.93 |
| 2026-09-24 12:00 |
15:59:01.97 |
+06:30:16.5 |
HIP 78390 |
25.83 |
| 2026-09-25 00:00 |
15:59:05.56 |
+06:29:31.4 |
HIP 78390 |
25.78 |
| 2026-09-25 12:00 |
15:59:09.19 |
+06:28:46.4 |
HIP 78390 |
25.77 |
| 2026-09-26 00:00 |
15:59:12.87 |
+06:28:01.4 |
HIP 78390 |
25.81 |
| 2026-09-26 12:00 |
15:59:16.58 |
+06:27:16.6 |
HIP 78390 |
25.89 |
| 2026-09-27 00:00 |
15:59:20.34 |
+06:26:31.8 |
HIP 78390 |
26.02 |
| 2026-09-27 12:00 |
15:59:24.14 |
+06:25:47.2 |
HIP 78390 |
26.20 |
| 2026-09-28 00:00 |
15:59:27.98 |
+06:25:02.7 |
HIP 78390 |
26.42 |
| 2026-09-28 12:00 |
15:59:31.86 |
+06:24:18.3 |
HIP 78390 |
26.69 |
| 2026-09-29 00:00 |
15:59:35.79 |
+06:23:34.0 |
HIP 78390 |
27.01 |
| 2026-09-29 12:00 |
15:59:39.75 |
+06:22:49.9 |
HIP 78390 |
27.38 |
| 2026-09-30 00:00 |
15:59:43.75 |
+06:22:05.8 |
HIP 78390 |
27.78 |
| 2026-09-30 12:00 |
15:59:47.80 |
+06:21:21.9 |
HIP 78390 |
28.24 |
| 2026-10-01 00:00 |
15:59:51.88 |
+06:20:38.1 |
HIP 78390 |
28.73 |
| 2026-10-01 12:00 |
15:59:56.00 |
+06:19:54.5 |
HIP 78390 |
29.27 |
| 2026-10-02 00:00 |
16:00:00.16 |
+06:19:11.0 |
HIP 78390 |
29.85 |
| 2026-10-02 12:00 |
16:00:04.36 |
+06:18:27.6 |
HIP 78390 |
30.46 |
| 2026-10-03 00:00 |
16:00:08.60 |
+06:17:44.3 |
HIP 78390 |
31.11 |
| 2026-10-03 12:00 |
16:00:12.88 |
+06:17:01.2 |
HIP 78390 |
31.80 |
| 2026-10-04 00:00 |
16:00:17.20 |
+06:16:18.3 |
HIP 78390 |
32.52 |
| 2026-10-04 12:00 |
16:00:21.55 |
+06:15:35.4 |
HIP 78390 |
33.28 |
| 2026-10-05 00:00 |
16:00:25.94 |
+06:14:52.8 |
HIP 78390 |
34.06 |
| 2026-10-05 12:00 |
16:00:30.37 |
+06:14:10.3 |
HIP 78390 |
34.87 |
| 2026-10-06 00:00 |
16:00:34.84 |
+06:13:27.9 |
HIP 78390 |
35.72 |
| 2026-10-06 12:00 |
16:00:39.34 |
+06:12:45.7 |
HIP 78390 |
36.59 |
| 2026-10-07 00:00 |
16:00:43.88 |
+06:12:03.7 |
HIP 78390 |
37.48 |
| 2026-10-07 12:00 |
16:00:48.46 |
+06:11:21.8 |
HIP 78390 |
38.40 |
| 2026-10-08 00:00 |
16:00:53.07 |
+06:10:40.1 |
HIP 78390 |
39.34 |
| 2026-10-08 12:00 |
16:00:57.72 |
+06:09:58.6 |
HIP 78390 |
40.31 |
| 2026-10-09 00:00 |
16:01:02.41 |
+06:09:17.2 |
HIP 78390 |
41.29 |
| 2026-10-09 12:00 |
16:01:07.12 |
+06:08:36.0 |
HIP 78390 |
42.30 |
| 2026-10-10 00:00 |
16:01:11.88 |
+06:07:55.0 |
HIP 78390 |
43.32 |
| 2026-10-10 12:00 |
16:01:16.67 |
+06:07:14.2 |
HIP 78717 |
43.32 |
| 2026-10-11 00:00 |
16:01:21.49 |
+06:06:33.5 |
HIP 78717 |
42.07 |