256P/LINEAR

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation 256P/LINEAR
Type P
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2013-03-17T12:37:58.005120Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2024-05-30T01:12:33Z
Obs used 270
NEO -
M1 12.000
K1 13.250
PC 0.030
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2015-02-12.0000000
e 0.41935612
q (au) 2.689114
a (au) 4.631263
i (deg) 27.631658
Ω (om, deg) 81.436538
ω (w, deg) 124.120383
M (ma, deg) 68.874689

Magnitude

256P/LINEAR · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (10.702 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 10.702
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

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-07-29 00:00 01:20:03.17 -24:10:12.4 HIP 6244 0.73
2026-07-29 12:00 01:20:03.65 -24:12:24.6 HIP 6244 1.83
2026-07-30 00:00 01:20:03.96 -24:14:37.5 HIP 6244 4.00
2026-07-30 12:00 01:20:04.11 -24:16:51.1 HIP 6244 6.22
2026-07-31 00:00 01:20:04.08 -24:19:05.3 HIP 6244 8.46
2026-07-31 12:00 01:20:03.88 -24:21:20.2 HIP 6244 10.70
2026-08-01 00:00 01:20:03.50 -24:23:35.8 HIP 6244 12.97
2026-08-01 12:00 01:20:02.96 -24:25:52.0 HIP 6244 15.24
2026-08-02 00:00 01:20:02.24 -24:28:08.8 HIP 6244 17.52
2026-08-02 12:00 01:20:01.35 -24:30:26.2 HIP 6244 19.82
2026-08-03 00:00 01:20:00.28 -24:32:44.2 HIP 6244 22.13
2026-08-03 12:00 01:19:59.04 -24:35:02.7 HIP 6197 23.04
2026-08-04 00:00 01:19:57.63 -24:37:21.9 HIP 6197 20.73
2026-08-04 12:00 01:19:56.04 -24:39:41.6 HIP 6197 18.41
2026-08-05 00:00 01:19:54.28 -24:42:01.8 HIP 6197 16.08
2026-08-05 12:00 01:19:52.35 -24:44:22.5 HIP 6197 13.73
2026-08-06 00:00 01:19:50.24 -24:46:43.8 HIP 6197 11.39
2026-08-06 12:00 01:19:47.95 -24:49:05.5 HIP 6197 9.04
2026-08-07 00:00 01:19:45.49 -24:51:27.7 HIP 6197 6.72
2026-08-07 12:00 01:19:42.86 -24:53:50.4 HIP 6197 4.48
2026-08-08 00:00 01:19:40.04 -24:56:13.5 HIP 6197 2.62
2026-08-08 12:00 01:19:37.06 -24:58:37.1 HIP 6197 2.39
2026-08-09 00:00 01:19:33.90 -25:01:01.0 HIP 6197 4.11
2026-08-09 12:00 01:19:30.56 -25:03:25.4 HIP 6197 6.38
2026-08-10 00:00 01:19:27.05 -25:05:50.1 HIP 6197 8.79
2026-08-10 12:00 01:19:23.36 -25:08:15.2 HIP 6197 11.27
2026-08-11 00:00 01:19:19.50 -25:10:40.6 HIP 6111 11.83
2026-08-11 12:00 01:19:15.46 -25:13:06.3 HIP 6111 11.15
2026-08-12 00:00 01:19:11.25 -25:15:32.3 HIP 6111 11.01
2026-08-12 12:00 01:19:06.86 -25:17:58.6 HIP 6111 11.46
2026-08-13 00:00 01:19:02.30 -25:20:25.2 HIP 6111 12.44
2026-08-13 12:00 01:18:57.56 -25:22:52.0 HIP 6111 13.85
2026-08-14 00:00 01:18:52.65 -25:25:19.0 HIP 6111 15.58
2026-08-14 12:00 01:18:47.57 -25:27:46.2 HIP 6111 17.55
2026-08-15 00:00 01:18:42.31 -25:30:13.6 HIP 6111 19.69
2026-08-15 12:00 01:18:36.88 -25:32:41.2 HIP 6125 21.26
2026-08-16 00:00 01:18:31.28 -25:35:08.9 HIP 6125 18.85
2026-08-16 12:00 01:18:25.51 -25:37:36.7 HIP 6125 16.57
2026-08-17 00:00 01:18:19.56 -25:40:04.6 HIP 6125 14.47
2026-08-17 12:00 01:18:13.45 -25:42:32.6 HIP 6125 12.66
2026-08-18 00:00 01:18:07.16 -25:45:00.6 HIP 6125 11.30
2026-08-18 12:00 01:18:00.71 -25:47:28.7 HIP 6125 10.58
2026-08-19 00:00 01:17:54.08 -25:49:56.8 HIP 6125 10.64