C/2021 Q6 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 Q6 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2024-03-23T13:47:29.414400Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2025-09-16T12:42:41Z
Obs used 388
NEO -
M1 5.000
K1 10.750
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-08-22T12:28:12.316800Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 22.25 z
Discovery observatory (MPC) F51 · Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2023-03-12.0000000
e 0.99972188
q (au) 8.709141
a (au) 31314.293105
i (deg) 161.847387
Ω (om, deg) 133.533757
ω (w, deg) 140.936211
M (ma, deg) 359.999933

Magnitude

C/2021 Q6 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (7.902 + 4.541\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 7.902
n 4.541
gf 0.875
gb -0.776
k 0.823
δ90 6.898
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 20:26:38.64 -21:02:13.4 HIP 100740 18.04
2026-09-20 12:00 20:26:26.53 -21:03:14.2 HIP 100740 15.05
2026-09-21 00:00 20:26:14.53 -21:04:14.5 HIP 100740 12.08
2026-09-21 12:00 20:26:02.64 -21:05:14.3 HIP 100740 9.16
2026-09-22 00:00 20:25:50.85 -21:06:13.6 HIP 100740 6.27
2026-09-22 12:00 20:25:39.18 -21:07:12.4 HIP 100740 3.48
2026-09-23 00:00 20:25:27.61 -21:08:10.7 HIP 100740 1.26
2026-09-23 12:00 20:25:16.15 -21:09:08.5 HIP 100740 2.72
2026-09-24 00:00 20:25:04.80 -21:10:05.8 HIP 100740 5.39
2026-09-24 12:00 20:24:53.57 -21:11:02.6 HIP 100740 8.13
2026-09-25 00:00 20:24:42.44 -21:11:59.0 HIP 100608 8.74
2026-09-25 12:00 20:24:31.42 -21:12:54.8 HIP 100608 6.55
2026-09-26 00:00 20:24:20.52 -21:13:50.2 HIP 100608 4.95
2026-09-26 12:00 20:24:09.72 -21:14:45.1 HIP 100608 4.55
2026-09-27 00:00 20:23:59.04 -21:15:39.4 HIP 100608 5.58
2026-09-27 12:00 20:23:48.47 -21:16:33.3 HIP 100568 6.30
2026-09-28 00:00 20:23:38.01 -21:17:26.7 HIP 100568 4.67
2026-09-28 12:00 20:23:27.67 -21:18:19.7 HIP 100568 4.18
2026-09-29 00:00 20:23:17.44 -21:19:12.1 HIP 100568 5.10
2026-09-29 12:00 20:23:07.32 -21:20:04.1 HIP 100568 6.87
2026-09-30 00:00 20:22:57.32 -21:20:55.5 HIP 100568 8.97
2026-09-30 12:00 20:22:47.43 -21:21:46.5 HIP 100568 11.20
2026-10-01 00:00 20:22:37.65 -21:22:37.0 HIP 100568 13.48
2026-10-01 12:00 20:22:27.99 -21:23:27.1 HIP 100394 12.94
2026-10-02 00:00 20:22:18.45 -21:24:16.6 HIP 100394 10.64
2026-10-02 12:00 20:22:09.02 -21:25:05.7 HIP 100394 8.41
2026-10-03 00:00 20:21:59.70 -21:25:54.3 HIP 100394 6.29
2026-10-03 12:00 20:21:50.50 -21:26:42.4 HIP 100394 4.40
2026-10-04 00:00 20:21:41.42 -21:27:30.0 HIP 100394 3.10
2026-10-04 12:00 20:21:32.46 -21:28:17.2 HIP 100394 3.17
2026-10-05 00:00 20:21:23.61 -21:29:03.8 HIP 100394 4.50
2026-10-05 12:00 20:21:14.87 -21:29:50.1 HIP 100394 6.31
2026-10-06 00:00 20:21:06.26 -21:30:35.8 HIP 100394 8.27
2026-10-06 12:00 20:20:57.76 -21:31:21.0 HIP 100394 10.28
2026-10-07 00:00 20:20:49.38 -21:32:05.8 HIP 100394 12.29
2026-10-07 12:00 20:20:41.12 -21:32:50.2 HIP 100394 14.30
2026-10-08 00:00 20:20:32.97 -21:33:34.0 HIP 100394 16.30
2026-10-08 12:00 20:20:24.94 -21:34:17.4 HIP 100394 18.27
2026-10-09 00:00 20:20:17.03 -21:35:00.3 HIP 100394 20.22
2026-10-09 12:00 20:20:09.24 -21:35:42.8 HIP 100394 22.15
2026-10-10 00:00 20:20:01.57 -21:36:24.8 HIP 100394 24.05
2026-10-10 12:00 20:19:54.01 -21:37:06.3 HIP 100394 25.93
2026-10-11 00:00 20:19:46.58 -21:37:47.3 HIP 100062 26.72