C/2026 P2 (PANSTARRS)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2026 P2 (PANSTARRS)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2027-11-21T16:19:50.145600Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2026-09-21T07:12:14Z
Obs used 268
NEO -
M1 6.000
K1 13.250
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2026-08-11T13:20:08.073600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 19.94 w
Discovery observatory (MPC) F51 · Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2026-07-29.0000000
e 0.99984835
q (au) 2.480270
a (au) 16355.203802
i (deg) 63.013582
Ω (om, deg) 23.444676
ω (w, deg) 78.879619
M (ma, deg) 359.999773

Magnitude

C/2026 P2 (PANSTARRS) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (7.284 + 5.590\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 7.284
n 5.590
gf 0.989
gb -0.637
k 0.800
δ90 8.650
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 01:45:34.98 -02:01:42.7 HIP 8218 7.20
2026-09-20 12:00 01:45:14.02 -02:01:27.0 HIP 8218 10.77
2026-09-21 00:00 01:44:52.86 -02:01:11.1 HIP 8218 15.37
2026-09-21 12:00 01:44:31.51 -02:00:55.0 HIP 8218 20.36
2026-09-22 00:00 01:44:09.97 -02:00:38.8 HIP 8218 25.54
2026-09-22 12:00 01:43:48.24 -02:00:22.5 HIP 7971 22.74
2026-09-23 00:00 01:43:26.31 -02:00:06.0 HIP 7971 18.02
2026-09-23 12:00 01:43:04.21 -01:59:49.3 HIP 7971 13.84
2026-09-24 00:00 01:42:41.91 -01:59:32.3 HIP 7971 10.92
2026-09-24 12:00 01:42:19.44 -01:59:15.2 HIP 7971 10.46
2026-09-25 00:00 01:41:56.78 -01:58:57.8 HIP 7971 12.79
2026-09-25 12:00 01:41:33.95 -01:58:40.2 HIP 7971 16.83
2026-09-26 00:00 01:41:10.93 -01:58:22.4 HIP 7971 21.67
2026-09-26 12:00 01:40:47.75 -01:58:04.2 HIP 7810 22.58
2026-09-27 00:00 01:40:24.39 -01:57:45.8 HIP 7810 21.68
2026-09-27 12:00 01:40:00.86 -01:57:27.1 HIP 7810 22.33
2026-09-28 00:00 01:39:37.16 -01:57:08.1 HIP 7810 24.44
2026-09-28 12:00 01:39:13.30 -01:56:48.8 HIP 7810 27.71
2026-09-29 00:00 01:38:49.27 -01:56:29.2 HIP 7810 31.80
2026-09-29 12:00 01:38:25.08 -01:56:09.2 HIP 7810 36.46
2026-09-30 00:00 01:38:00.74 -01:55:48.8 HIP 7596 37.63
2026-09-30 12:00 01:37:36.23 -01:55:28.1 HIP 7596 37.40
2026-10-01 00:00 01:37:11.57 -01:55:07.0 HIP 7354 36.87
2026-10-01 12:00 01:36:46.76 -01:54:45.5 HIP 7354 30.88
2026-10-02 00:00 01:36:21.81 -01:54:23.6 HIP 7354 24.97
2026-10-02 12:00 01:35:56.70 -01:54:01.2 HIP 7354 19.25
2026-10-03 00:00 01:35:31.45 -01:53:38.5 HIP 7354 13.98
2026-10-03 12:00 01:35:06.06 -01:53:15.2 HIP 7354 10.02
2026-10-04 00:00 01:34:40.53 -01:52:51.5 HIP 7354 9.28
2026-10-04 12:00 01:34:14.87 -01:52:27.3 HIP 7267 9.61
2026-10-05 00:00 01:33:49.07 -01:52:02.7 HIP 7267 3.15
2026-10-05 12:00 01:33:23.15 -01:51:37.5 HIP 7267 3.34
2026-10-06 00:00 01:32:57.09 -01:51:11.7 HIP 7267 9.86
2026-10-06 12:00 01:32:30.92 -01:50:45.5 HIP 7267 16.42
2026-10-07 00:00 01:32:04.63 -01:50:18.6 HIP 7267 23.00
2026-10-07 12:00 01:31:38.22 -01:49:51.2 HIP 7267 29.62
2026-10-08 00:00 01:31:11.69 -01:49:23.3 HIP 7085 30.62
2026-10-08 12:00 01:30:45.06 -01:48:54.7 HIP 7085 32.02
2026-10-09 00:00 01:30:18.32 -01:48:25.5 HIP 7085 34.70
2026-10-09 12:00 01:29:51.48 -01:47:55.6 HIP 6840 31.01
2026-10-10 00:00 01:29:24.54 -01:47:25.1 HIP 6833 25.27
2026-10-10 12:00 01:28:57.51 -01:46:54.0 HIP 6833 19.92
2026-10-11 00:00 01:28:30.38 -01:46:22.1 HIP 6833 15.71