501P/Rankin

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation 501P/Rankin
Type P
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2020-12-10T08:39:13.299840Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2025-07-31T16:54:57Z
Obs used 98
NEO Yes
M1 21.900
K1 4.500
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2024-06-15T10:13:37.545600Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.90 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) G96 · University of Arizona Mt. Lemmon Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2022-05-24.0000000
e 0.69572032
q (au) 0.680308
a (au) 2.235797
i (deg) 10.104448
Ω (om, deg) 140.492867
ω (w, deg) 52.799047
M (ma, deg) 156.147750

Magnitude

501P/Rankin · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (20.000 + 6.000\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 20.000
n 6.000
gf 1.000
gb -0.852
k 0.990
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
2024-03-22 2024-07-29 -14.2235 +1.816

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 02:23:07.01 +06:14:01.0 HIP 11132 14.24
2026-06-01 12:00 02:23:37.08 +06:15:59.4 HIP 11132 17.01
2026-06-02 00:00 02:24:07.11 +06:17:57.1 HIP 11151 20.76
2026-06-02 12:00 02:24:37.12 +06:19:54.0 HIP 11151 23.87
2026-06-03 00:00 02:25:07.09 +06:21:50.1 HIP 11360 17.70
2026-06-03 12:00 02:25:37.02 +06:23:45.4 HIP 11360 11.54
2026-06-04 00:00 02:26:06.93 +06:25:40.0 HIP 11360 8.43
2026-06-04 12:00 02:26:36.80 +06:27:33.8 HIP 11360 11.24
2026-06-05 00:00 02:27:06.63 +06:29:26.8 HIP 11411 15.87
2026-06-05 12:00 02:27:36.43 +06:31:19.1 HIP 11411 19.53
2026-06-06 00:00 02:28:06.19 +06:33:10.5 HIP 11563 20.29
2026-06-06 12:00 02:28:35.91 +06:35:01.1 HIP 11563 14.88
2026-06-07 00:00 02:29:05.60 +06:36:51.0 HIP 11563 12.14
2026-06-07 12:00 02:29:35.24 +06:38:40.0 HIP 11563 13.74
2026-06-08 00:00 02:30:04.85 +06:40:28.2 HIP 11563 18.57
2026-06-08 12:00 02:30:34.42 +06:42:15.6 HIP 11798 24.28
2026-06-09 00:00 02:31:03.94 +06:44:02.2 HIP 11798 16.97
2026-06-09 12:00 02:31:33.43 +06:45:48.0 HIP 11798 10.01
2026-06-10 00:00 02:32:02.87 +06:47:32.9 HIP 11798 5.06
2026-06-10 12:00 02:32:32.27 +06:49:17.0 HIP 11798 7.99
2026-06-11 00:00 02:33:01.62 +06:51:00.2 HIP 11854 6.39
2026-06-11 12:00 02:33:30.93 +06:52:42.6 HIP 11854 9.03
2026-06-12 00:00 02:34:00.20 +06:54:24.2 HIP 11854 15.29
2026-06-12 12:00 02:34:29.41 +06:56:04.8 HIP 11854 22.28
2026-06-13 00:00 02:34:58.58 +06:57:44.7 HIP 12114 16.87
2026-06-13 12:00 02:35:27.70 +06:59:23.6 HIP 12114 11.01
2026-06-14 00:00 02:35:56.77 +07:01:01.7 HIP 12114 8.22
2026-06-14 12:00 02:36:25.79 +07:02:38.9 HIP 12114 11.08
2026-06-15 00:00 02:36:54.76 +07:04:15.3 HIP 12114 16.92
2026-06-15 12:00 02:37:23.67 +07:05:50.7 HIP 12323 21.17
2026-06-16 00:00 02:37:52.53 +07:07:25.2 HIP 12323 16.01
2026-06-16 12:00 02:38:21.34 +07:08:58.9 HIP 12323 13.10
2026-06-17 00:00 02:38:50.09 +07:10:31.6 HIP 12323 13.91
2026-06-17 12:00 02:39:18.78 +07:12:03.5 HIP 12323 17.93
2026-06-18 00:00 02:39:47.42 +07:13:34.4 HIP 12323 23.54
2026-06-18 12:00 02:40:16.00 +07:15:04.5 HIP 12420 23.15
2026-06-19 00:00 02:40:44.52 +07:16:33.6 HIP 12420 24.63
2026-06-19 12:00 02:41:12.98 +07:18:01.8 HIP 12420 27.97
2026-06-20 00:00 02:41:41.38 +07:19:29.0 HIP 12607 27.33
2026-06-20 12:00 02:42:09.72 +07:20:55.4 HIP 12607 28.10
2026-06-21 00:00 02:42:38.00 +07:22:20.8 HIP 12771 22.64
2026-06-21 12:00 02:43:06.22 +07:23:45.3 HIP 12771 15.64
2026-06-22 00:00 02:43:34.37 +07:25:08.8 HIP 12771 8.86