C/2021 U5 (Catalina)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2021 U5 (Catalina)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2022-01-26T14:41:49.295040Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2022-11-29T21:43:26Z
Obs used 463
NEO -
M1 4.800
K1 28.500
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2021-10-29T11:47:30.652800Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 19.16 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) 703 · University of Arizona Catalina Sky Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2022-02-19.0000000
e 0.98911516
q (au) 2.363288
a (au) 217.117490
i (deg) 39.049400
Ω (om, deg) 182.755199
ω (w, deg) 321.471259
M (ma, deg) 0.007205

Magnitude

C/2021 U5 (Catalina) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (12.219 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 12.219
n 6.000
gf 1.000
gb -0.744
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 18:02:49.86 +15:52:01.0 HIP 88315 11.24
2026-09-20 12:00 18:02:51.11 +15:50:38.5 HIP 88315 12.26
2026-09-21 00:00 18:02:52.43 +15:49:16.0 HIP 88315 13.37
2026-09-21 12:00 18:02:53.82 +15:47:53.7 HIP 88315 14.54
2026-09-22 00:00 18:02:55.29 +15:46:31.4 HIP 88315 15.77
2026-09-22 12:00 18:02:56.84 +15:45:09.3 HIP 88315 17.03
2026-09-23 00:00 18:02:58.46 +15:43:47.2 HIP 88315 18.33
2026-09-23 12:00 18:03:00.15 +15:42:25.3 HIP 88315 19.65
2026-09-24 00:00 18:03:01.92 +15:41:03.5 HIP 88315 21.00
2026-09-24 12:00 18:03:03.76 +15:39:41.8 HIP 88315 22.36
2026-09-25 00:00 18:03:05.68 +15:38:20.2 HIP 88315 23.74
2026-09-25 12:00 18:03:07.67 +15:36:58.7 HIP 88315 25.14
2026-09-26 00:00 18:03:09.73 +15:35:37.4 HIP 88315 26.55
2026-09-26 12:00 18:03:11.87 +15:34:16.3 HIP 88315 27.96
2026-09-27 00:00 18:03:14.08 +15:32:55.2 HIP 88315 29.39
2026-09-27 12:00 18:03:16.37 +15:31:34.3 HIP 88590 30.33
2026-09-28 00:00 18:03:18.72 +15:30:13.6 HIP 88590 30.13
2026-09-28 12:00 18:03:21.15 +15:28:53.0 HIP 88394 29.18
2026-09-29 00:00 18:03:23.65 +15:27:32.6 HIP 88394 27.97
2026-09-29 12:00 18:03:26.23 +15:26:12.4 HIP 88394 26.80
2026-09-30 00:00 18:03:28.88 +15:24:52.4 HIP 88394 25.67
2026-09-30 12:00 18:03:31.59 +15:23:32.5 HIP 88394 24.58
2026-10-01 00:00 18:03:34.38 +15:22:12.8 HIP 88394 23.55
2026-10-01 12:00 18:03:37.25 +15:20:53.3 HIP 88394 22.57
2026-10-02 00:00 18:03:40.18 +15:19:34.0 HIP 88394 21.67
2026-10-02 12:00 18:03:43.18 +15:18:14.9 HIP 88394 20.85
2026-10-03 00:00 18:03:46.26 +15:16:56.0 HIP 88394 20.11
2026-10-03 12:00 18:03:49.41 +15:15:37.3 HIP 88394 19.48
2026-10-04 00:00 18:03:52.62 +15:14:18.8 HIP 88394 18.97
2026-10-04 12:00 18:03:55.91 +15:13:00.5 HIP 88394 18.58
2026-10-05 00:00 18:03:59.27 +15:11:42.5 HIP 88394 18.33
2026-10-05 12:00 18:04:02.70 +15:10:24.7 HIP 88394 18.21
2026-10-06 00:00 18:04:06.20 +15:09:07.1 HIP 88394 18.25
2026-10-06 12:00 18:04:09.77 +15:07:49.8 HIP 88394 18.43
2026-10-07 00:00 18:04:13.40 +15:06:32.8 HIP 88394 18.76
2026-10-07 12:00 18:04:17.11 +15:05:15.9 HIP 88493 18.48
2026-10-08 00:00 18:04:20.89 +15:03:59.4 HIP 88493 17.32
2026-10-08 12:00 18:04:24.73 +15:02:43.1 HIP 88493 16.25
2026-10-09 00:00 18:04:28.64 +15:01:27.1 HIP 88493 15.27
2026-10-09 12:00 18:04:32.63 +15:00:11.3 HIP 88493 14.41
2026-10-10 00:00 18:04:36.68 +14:58:55.8 HIP 88493 13.69
2026-10-10 12:00 18:04:40.79 +14:57:40.6 HIP 88493 13.13
2026-10-11 00:00 18:04:44.98 +14:56:25.8 HIP 88493 12.77