C/2014 W6 Catalina
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Comet C/2014 W6 was discovered on 20 November 2014 by R.A. Kowalski and W.H. Ryan during Catalina Sky Survey, that is four months before its perihelion passage, and was observed until 20 July 2015. This comet had closest approach to the Earth on 12 March 2015 (2.21 au, a week before the perihelion passage).
Despite the large perihelion distance (3.01 au), this is a comet with NG effects determinable by positional data fitting (solution 'c5'). However, this NG solution gives marginally hyperbolic original orbit with large uncertainty. Therefore, because of the similarity of the original semimajor axis obtained from GR solutions 'a5' (entire data arc) and 'p5' (pre-perihelion data arc), and the narrow range of heliocentric distances for NG orbit determination, the solution 'a5' is proposed here as the preferred orbit. Solutions 'a5' (GR, preferred) and 'c5' (NG, sublimation of more volatile icesd than water ice) are based on data spanning over 0.66 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 3.30 au – 3.01 au (perihelion) – 3.31 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations while passing through the planetary system; these perturbations probably lead to a slightly more tight future orbit.
Despite the large perihelion distance (3.01 au), this is a comet with NG effects determinable by positional data fitting (solution 'c5'). However, this NG solution gives marginally hyperbolic original orbit with large uncertainty. Therefore, because of the similarity of the original semimajor axis obtained from GR solutions 'a5' (entire data arc) and 'p5' (pre-perihelion data arc), and the narrow range of heliocentric distances for NG orbit determination, the solution 'a5' is proposed here as the preferred orbit. Solutions 'a5' (GR, preferred) and 'c5' (NG, sublimation of more volatile icesd than water ice) are based on data spanning over 0.66 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 3.30 au – 3.01 au (perihelion) – 3.31 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations while passing through the planetary system; these perturbations probably lead to a slightly more tight future orbit.
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 116 | |
| data interval | 2014 11 20 – 2015 03 15 | |
| data arc selection | data generally limited to pre-perihelion (PRE) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 3.3 au – 3.09au | |
| detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion | comet with determinable NG~orbit | |
| type of model of motion | GR - gravitational orbit | |
| data weighting | YES | |
| number of residuals | 223 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.38 | |
| orbit quality class | 2a | |
| orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Epoch | 1712 06 15 | |
| perihelion date | 2015 03 18.83332198 | ± 0.00260901 |
| perihelion distance [au] | 3.07971203 | ± 0.00001098 |
| eccentricity | 0.99973950 | ± 0.00002050 |
| argument of perihelion [°] | 209.997141 | ± 0.000673 |
| ascending node [°] | 338.200307 | ± 0.000066 |
| inclination [°] | 53.528388 | ± 0.000103 |
| reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 84.59 | ± 6.66 |
| file containing 5001 VCs swarm |
|---|
| 2014w6p5.bmi |
Upper panel: Time distribution of positional observations with corresponding heliocentric (red curve) and geocentric (green curve) distance at which they were taken. The horizontal dotted line shows the perihelion distance for a given comet whereas vertical dotted line — the moment of perihelion passage.
Middle panel(s): O-C diagram for a given solution (sometimes in comparison to another solution available in CODE), where residuals in right ascension are shown using magenta dots and in declination by blue open circles.
Lowest panel: Relative weights for a given data set(s).
Middle panel(s): O-C diagram for a given solution (sometimes in comparison to another solution available in CODE), where residuals in right ascension are shown using magenta dots and in declination by blue open circles.
Lowest panel: Relative weights for a given data set(s).
Six 2D-projections of the 6D space of original swarm including 5001 VCs. Each density map is given in logarithmic scale presented on the right in the individual panel.