C/2022 U2 (ATLAS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2022 U2 (ATLAS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2023-01-14T05:16:42.461760Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2023-11-04T19:42:53Z
Obs used 996
NEO -
M1 13.600
K1 19.750
PC 0.030
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2022-10-25T05:05:57.926400Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 19.13 o
Discovery observatory (MPC) T08 · ATLAS-MLO, Mauna Loa
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2023-01-07.0000000
e 0.98612019
q (au) 1.328023
a (au) 95.680211
i (deg) 48.249781
Ω (om, deg) 304.475901
ω (w, deg) 147.908535
M (ma, deg) 359.992397

Magnitude

C/2022 U2 (ATLAS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (13.410 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 13.410
n 6.000
gf 1.000
gb -0.998
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
2022-10-25 2022-11-25 +10.6742 -2.041
2022-11-25 2023-01-13 +45.3999 -7.789
2023-01-14 2023-05-19 +3.5650 -2.032

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 14:20:27.80 -66:35:21.2 HIP 70196 10.92
2026-06-01 12:00 14:20:10.23 -66:33:44.7 HIP 70196 13.29
2026-06-02 00:00 14:19:52.82 -66:32:07.4 HIP 70196 15.66
2026-06-02 12:00 14:19:35.59 -66:30:29.3 HIP 70019 17.61
2026-06-03 00:00 14:19:18.54 -66:28:50.3 HIP 69796 16.61
2026-06-03 12:00 14:19:01.66 -66:27:10.6 HIP 69796 14.27
2026-06-04 00:00 14:18:44.96 -66:25:30.2 HIP 69796 11.95
2026-06-04 12:00 14:18:28.43 -66:23:48.9 HIP 69796 9.66
2026-06-05 00:00 14:18:12.09 -66:22:06.9 HIP 69796 7.41
2026-06-05 12:00 14:17:55.93 -66:20:24.2 HIP 69796 5.29
2026-06-06 00:00 14:17:39.95 -66:18:40.8 HIP 69796 3.48
2026-06-06 12:00 14:17:24.16 -66:16:56.6 HIP 69796 2.74
2026-06-07 00:00 14:17:08.55 -66:15:11.8 HIP 69796 3.75
2026-06-07 12:00 14:16:53.12 -66:13:26.3 HIP 69725 3.72
2026-06-08 00:00 14:16:37.89 -66:11:40.1 HIP 69725 1.71
2026-06-08 12:00 14:16:22.84 -66:09:53.2 HIP 69725 1.72
2026-06-09 00:00 14:16:07.98 -66:08:05.7 HIP 69725 3.74
2026-06-09 12:00 14:15:53.31 -66:06:17.6 HIP 69725 6.00
2026-06-10 00:00 14:15:38.84 -66:04:28.8 HIP 69584 8.03
2026-06-10 12:00 14:15:24.55 -66:02:39.5 HIP 69584 8.28
2026-06-11 00:00 14:15:10.46 -66:00:49.5 HIP 69584 9.16
2026-06-11 12:00 14:14:56.56 -65:58:59.0 HIP 69584 10.50
2026-06-12 00:00 14:14:42.86 -65:57:07.9 HIP 69584 12.14
2026-06-12 12:00 14:14:29.35 -65:55:16.2 HIP 69591 13.23
2026-06-13 00:00 14:14:16.04 -65:53:24.0 HIP 69591 11.57
2026-06-13 12:00 14:14:02.93 -65:51:31.3 HIP 69591 10.16
2026-06-14 00:00 14:13:50.02 -65:49:38.1 HIP 69591 9.11
2026-06-14 12:00 14:13:37.30 -65:47:44.3 HIP 69591 8.54
2026-06-15 00:00 14:13:24.79 -65:45:50.1 HIP 69591 8.56
2026-06-15 12:00 14:13:12.48 -65:43:55.4 HIP 69591 9.15
2026-06-16 00:00 14:13:00.36 -65:42:00.3 HIP 69591 10.22
2026-06-16 12:00 14:12:48.45 -65:40:04.7 HIP 69591 11.62
2026-06-17 00:00 14:12:36.74 -65:38:08.6 HIP 69445 11.60
2026-06-17 12:00 14:12:25.24 -65:36:12.2 HIP 69445 10.13
2026-06-18 00:00 14:12:13.93 -65:34:15.4 HIP 69445 8.99
2026-06-18 12:00 14:12:02.83 -65:32:18.1 HIP 69445 8.31
2026-06-19 00:00 14:11:51.94 -65:30:20.5 HIP 69445 8.20
2026-06-19 12:00 14:11:41.25 -65:28:22.6 HIP 69445 8.67
2026-06-20 00:00 14:11:30.76 -65:26:24.3 HIP 69445 9.65
2026-06-20 12:00 14:11:20.47 -65:24:25.6 HIP 69445 10.99
2026-06-21 00:00 14:11:10.39 -65:22:26.7 HIP 69445 12.58
2026-06-21 12:00 14:11:00.52 -65:20:27.4 HIP 69445 14.32
2026-06-22 00:00 14:10:50.84 -65:18:27.9 HIP 69445 16.18