438P/Christensen

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation 438P/Christensen
Type P
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2005-04-12T02:55:56.516160Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2026-06-09T11:12:48Z
Obs used 115
NEO -
M1 17.500
K1 5.500
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2020-07-31T10:04:40.224000Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 22.50 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) G96 · University of Arizona Mt. Lemmon Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2008-08-09.0000000
e 0.42236565
q (au) 2.209059
a (au) 3.824320
i (deg) 8.337130
Ω (om, deg) 260.604941
ω (w, deg) 58.403241
M (ma, deg) 160.105137

Magnitude

438P/Christensen · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (15.632 + 3.815\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 15.632
n 3.815
gf 1.000
gb -0.930
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

Finding Chart

438P/Christensen · Next 30 Days

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-09-20 00:00 13:45:18.25 -15:36:37.5 HIP 67139 10.25
2026-09-20 12:00 13:45:54.89 -15:39:17.2 HIP 67139 8.27
2026-09-21 00:00 13:46:31.64 -15:41:57.3 HIP 67139 14.21
2026-09-21 12:00 13:47:08.48 -15:44:37.7 HIP 67139 22.51
2026-09-22 00:00 13:47:45.42 -15:47:18.5 HIP 67328 16.89
2026-09-22 12:00 13:48:22.46 -15:49:59.5 HIP 67328 15.06
2026-09-23 00:00 13:48:59.60 -15:52:41.0 HIP 67328 18.48
2026-09-23 12:00 13:49:36.83 -15:55:22.7 HIP 67328 25.13
2026-09-24 00:00 13:50:14.17 -15:58:04.7 HIP 67328 33.12
2026-09-24 12:00 13:50:51.59 -16:00:47.1 HIP 67784 33.74
2026-09-25 00:00 13:51:29.12 -16:03:29.7 HIP 67784 24.96
2026-09-25 12:00 13:52:06.74 -16:06:12.7 HIP 67784 16.89
2026-09-26 00:00 13:52:44.45 -16:08:55.9 HIP 67784 11.19
2026-09-26 12:00 13:53:22.26 -16:11:39.4 HIP 67784 12.02
2026-09-27 00:00 13:54:00.17 -16:14:23.1 HIP 67784 18.55
2026-09-27 12:00 13:54:38.17 -16:17:07.2 HIP 68007 16.43
2026-09-28 00:00 13:55:16.26 -16:19:51.5 HIP 68007 12.23
2026-09-28 12:00 13:55:54.45 -16:22:36.0 HIP 68090 13.38
2026-09-29 00:00 13:56:32.74 -16:25:20.8 HIP 68090 13.64
2026-09-29 12:00 13:57:11.11 -16:28:05.8 HIP 68090 19.43
2026-09-30 00:00 13:57:49.59 -16:30:51.0 HIP 68090 27.47
2026-09-30 12:00 13:58:28.15 -16:33:36.5 HIP 68090 36.31
2026-10-01 00:00 13:59:06.81 -16:36:22.2 HIP 68451 30.13
2026-10-01 12:00 13:59:45.56 -16:39:08.1 HIP 68451 25.13
2026-10-02 00:00 14:00:24.41 -16:41:54.2 HIP 68451 23.30
2026-10-02 12:00 14:01:03.35 -16:44:40.5 HIP 68451 25.37
2026-10-03 00:00 14:01:42.38 -16:47:27.1 HIP 68451 30.57
2026-10-03 12:00 14:02:21.50 -16:50:13.7 HIP 68643 33.39
2026-10-04 00:00 14:03:00.71 -16:53:00.6 HIP 68643 29.02
2026-10-04 12:00 14:03:40.02 -16:55:47.7 HIP 68643 27.59
2026-10-05 00:00 14:04:19.42 -16:58:34.9 HIP 68643 29.53
2026-10-05 12:00 14:04:58.91 -17:01:22.2 HIP 68643 34.31
2026-10-06 00:00 14:05:38.49 -17:04:09.7 HIP 68918 26.64
2026-10-06 12:00 14:06:18.16 -17:06:57.4 HIP 68918 20.73
2026-10-07 00:00 14:06:57.92 -17:09:45.2 HIP 68918 18.58
2026-10-07 12:00 14:07:37.77 -17:12:33.1 HIP 68918 21.37
2026-10-08 00:00 14:08:17.71 -17:15:21.2 HIP 68918 27.68
2026-10-08 12:00 14:08:57.74 -17:18:09.3 HIP 69111 26.08
2026-10-09 00:00 14:09:37.86 -17:20:57.6 HIP 69111 25.81
2026-10-09 12:00 14:10:18.07 -17:23:45.9 HIP 69314 26.00
2026-10-10 00:00 14:10:58.36 -17:26:34.4 HIP 69314 25.36
2026-10-10 12:00 14:11:38.74 -17:29:22.9 HIP 69362 23.89
2026-10-11 00:00 14:12:19.21 -17:32:11.5 HIP 69362 21.75