C/2020 X4 (Leonard)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2020 X4 (Leonard)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2020-11-14T11:24:14.964480Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2021-09-20T00:12:50Z
Obs used 113
NEO -
M1 7.200
K1 13.000
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2020-12-14T02:02:54.758400Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.00 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) G96 · University of Arizona Mt. Lemmon Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2021-02-28.0000000
e 0.87940102
q (au) 5.205810
a (au) 43.166284
i (deg) 80.491366
Ω (om, deg) 161.905337
ω (w, deg) 139.911326
M (ma, deg) 0.366726

Magnitude

C/2020 X4 (Leonard) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (4.783 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 4.783
n 6.000
gf 0.999
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-09-20 00:00 03:32:55.50 -58:38:47.4 HIP 16542 1.10
2026-09-20 12:00 03:32:50.20 -58:40:45.4 HIP 16542 2.85
2026-09-21 00:00 03:32:44.77 -58:42:42.8 HIP 16542 4.87
2026-09-21 12:00 03:32:39.22 -58:44:39.7 HIP 16542 6.93
2026-09-22 00:00 03:32:33.54 -58:46:35.9 HIP 16542 8.99
2026-09-22 12:00 03:32:27.74 -58:48:31.5 HIP 16542 11.05
2026-09-23 00:00 03:32:21.81 -58:50:26.5 HIP 16542 13.11
2026-09-23 12:00 03:32:15.76 -58:52:20.9 HIP 16542 15.17
2026-09-24 00:00 03:32:09.58 -58:54:14.6 HIP 16542 17.23
2026-09-24 12:00 03:32:03.27 -58:56:07.7 HIP 16542 19.28
2026-09-25 00:00 03:31:56.85 -58:58:00.2 HIP 16542 21.33
2026-09-25 12:00 03:31:50.29 -58:59:51.9 HIP 16542 23.38
2026-09-26 00:00 03:31:43.62 -59:01:43.0 HIP 16542 25.42
2026-09-26 12:00 03:31:36.83 -59:03:33.4 HIP 16542 27.45
2026-09-27 00:00 03:31:29.91 -59:05:23.2 HIP 16542 29.49
2026-09-27 12:00 03:31:22.87 -59:07:12.2 HIP 16542 31.52
2026-09-28 00:00 03:31:15.72 -59:09:00.5 HIP 16542 33.54
2026-09-28 12:00 03:31:08.44 -59:10:48.2 HIP 16756 34.32
2026-09-29 00:00 03:31:01.04 -59:12:35.0 HIP 16756 35.03
2026-09-29 12:00 03:30:53.53 -59:14:21.2 HIP 16026 34.88
2026-09-30 00:00 03:30:45.89 -59:16:06.6 HIP 16026 33.75
2026-09-30 12:00 03:30:38.14 -59:17:51.3 HIP 16026 32.70
2026-10-01 00:00 03:30:30.27 -59:19:35.2 HIP 16026 31.73
2026-10-01 12:00 03:30:22.29 -59:21:18.3 HIP 16026 30.84
2026-10-02 00:00 03:30:14.19 -59:23:00.7 HIP 16417 29.77
2026-10-02 12:00 03:30:05.97 -59:24:42.2 HIP 16417 28.50
2026-10-03 00:00 03:29:57.65 -59:26:23.0 HIP 16417 27.33
2026-10-03 12:00 03:29:49.20 -59:28:03.0 HIP 16417 26.28
2026-10-04 00:00 03:29:40.65 -59:29:42.1 HIP 16417 25.36
2026-10-04 12:00 03:29:31.98 -59:31:20.5 HIP 16417 24.59
2026-10-05 00:00 03:29:23.20 -59:32:58.0 HIP 16417 23.97
2026-10-05 12:00 03:29:14.31 -59:34:34.6 HIP 16417 23.51
2026-10-06 00:00 03:29:05.32 -59:36:10.4 HIP 16204 22.55
2026-10-06 12:00 03:28:56.21 -59:37:45.4 HIP 16204 20.88
2026-10-07 00:00 03:28:47.00 -59:39:19.5 HIP 16204 19.28
2026-10-07 12:00 03:28:37.68 -59:40:52.7 HIP 16204 17.76
2026-10-08 00:00 03:28:28.25 -59:42:25.0 HIP 16204 16.36
2026-10-08 12:00 03:28:18.72 -59:43:56.4 HIP 16204 15.08
2026-10-09 00:00 03:28:09.09 -59:45:26.9 HIP 16204 13.99
2026-10-09 12:00 03:27:59.35 -59:46:56.5 HIP 16204 13.10
2026-10-10 00:00 03:27:49.51 -59:48:25.2 HIP 16204 12.47
2026-10-10 12:00 03:27:39.57 -59:49:52.9 HIP 16204 12.14
2026-10-11 00:00 03:27:29.53 -59:51:19.7 HIP 16204 12.12