C/2021 A4 (NEOWISE)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 A4 (NEOWISE)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2021-03-20T00:53:23.712000Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2022-03-08T19:43:19Z
Obs used 683
NEO -
M1 13.600
K1 28.500
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-01-03T22:02:49.632000Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.00 R
Discovery observatory (MPC) C51 · WISE
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2021-02-16.0000000
e 0.97324748
q (au) 1.145476
a (au) 42.817518
i (deg) 111.569834
Ω (om, deg) 307.084762
ω (w, deg) 204.665566
M (ma, deg) 359.887300

Magnitude

C/2021 A4 (NEOWISE) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (14.236 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 14.236
n 6.000
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
2021-01-03 2021-03-19 +14.1648 -1.643
2021-03-21 2021-07-07 -3.2765 -1.725

log10 r = log10(heliocentric distance / AU), Δ = geocentric distance (AU)

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-06-01 00:00 21:03:19.54 -21:12:04.1 HIP 103808 18.49
2026-06-01 12:00 21:03:15.18 -21:12:18.6 HIP 103808 17.47
2026-06-02 00:00 21:03:10.76 -21:12:33.3 HIP 103808 16.43
2026-06-02 12:00 21:03:06.26 -21:12:48.3 HIP 103808 15.39
2026-06-03 00:00 21:03:01.71 -21:13:03.4 HIP 103808 14.33
2026-06-03 12:00 21:02:57.09 -21:13:18.8 HIP 103808 13.27
2026-06-04 00:00 21:02:52.41 -21:13:34.4 HIP 103808 12.20
2026-06-04 12:00 21:02:47.66 -21:13:50.2 HIP 103808 11.12
2026-06-05 00:00 21:02:42.85 -21:14:06.3 HIP 103808 10.05
2026-06-05 12:00 21:02:37.97 -21:14:22.5 HIP 103808 8.97
2026-06-06 00:00 21:02:33.04 -21:14:39.0 HIP 103808 7.92
2026-06-06 12:00 21:02:28.04 -21:14:55.6 HIP 103808 6.89
2026-06-07 00:00 21:02:22.98 -21:15:12.5 HIP 103808 5.91
2026-06-07 12:00 21:02:17.85 -21:15:29.5 HIP 103808 5.03
2026-06-08 00:00 21:02:12.67 -21:15:46.8 HIP 103808 4.31
2026-06-08 12:00 21:02:07.42 -21:16:04.2 HIP 103808 3.86
2026-06-09 00:00 21:02:02.11 -21:16:21.9 HIP 103808 3.80
2026-06-09 12:00 21:01:56.74 -21:16:39.7 HIP 103808 4.15
2026-06-10 00:00 21:01:51.31 -21:16:57.7 HIP 103808 4.84
2026-06-10 12:00 21:01:45.82 -21:17:16.0 HIP 103808 5.76
2026-06-11 00:00 21:01:40.27 -21:17:34.4 HIP 103808 6.82
2026-06-11 12:00 21:01:34.66 -21:17:53.0 HIP 103808 7.97
2026-06-12 00:00 21:01:28.98 -21:18:11.7 HIP 103808 9.19
2026-06-12 12:00 21:01:23.25 -21:18:30.7 HIP 103808 10.45
2026-06-13 00:00 21:01:17.47 -21:18:49.8 HIP 103808 11.76
2026-06-13 12:00 21:01:11.62 -21:19:09.1 HIP 103808 13.09
2026-06-14 00:00 21:01:05.71 -21:19:28.6 HIP 103808 14.45
2026-06-14 12:00 21:00:59.75 -21:19:48.3 HIP 103808 15.83
2026-06-15 00:00 21:00:53.73 -21:20:08.1 HIP 103808 17.23
2026-06-15 12:00 21:00:47.65 -21:20:28.1 HIP 103808 18.65
2026-06-16 00:00 21:00:41.52 -21:20:48.2 HIP 103808 20.09
2026-06-16 12:00 21:00:35.33 -21:21:08.5 HIP 103808 21.55
2026-06-17 00:00 21:00:29.08 -21:21:29.0 HIP 103808 23.02
2026-06-17 12:00 21:00:22.78 -21:21:49.6 HIP 103808 24.51
2026-06-18 00:00 21:00:16.43 -21:22:10.4 HIP 103808 26.01
2026-06-18 12:00 21:00:10.02 -21:22:31.3 HIP 103507 27.16
2026-06-19 00:00 21:00:03.56 -21:22:52.4 HIP 103507 25.69
2026-06-19 12:00 20:59:57.04 -21:23:13.6 HIP 103507 24.23
2026-06-20 00:00 20:59:50.47 -21:23:34.9 HIP 103507 22.76
2026-06-20 12:00 20:59:43.85 -21:23:56.4 HIP 103507 21.30
2026-06-21 00:00 20:59:37.18 -21:24:18.0 HIP 103507 19.85
2026-06-21 12:00 20:59:30.45 -21:24:39.7 HIP 103507 18.41
2026-06-22 00:00 20:59:23.68 -21:25:01.6 HIP 103507 16.98