C/2015 W1 Gibss
more info
Comet C/2015 W1 was discovered on 18 November 2015 by A.R. Gibbs (Catalina Sky Survey), that is half a year before its perihelion passage. Comet was followed until 3 July 2016. C/2015 V2 had closest approach to the Earth on 25 January 2016 (1.621 au, less than three months before the perihelion passage).
This is a comet with NG effects determinable using positional data fitting. Both solutions (GR and NG) are based on data spanning over 0.625 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 3.01 au – 2.232 au (perihelion) – 2.30 au.
This Oort Cloud comet (GR orbit gives marginally Oort Cloud comet with original semimajor axis about 10,000 au whereas NG orbit – marginally hyperbolic) suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; these perturbations lead to more tight future orbit, but predictions for GR and NG orbits are different (see future barycentric orbits).
This is a comet with NG effects determinable using positional data fitting. Both solutions (GR and NG) are based on data spanning over 0.625 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 3.01 au – 2.232 au (perihelion) – 2.30 au.
This Oort Cloud comet (GR orbit gives marginally Oort Cloud comet with original semimajor axis about 10,000 au whereas NG orbit – marginally hyperbolic) suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; these perturbations lead to more tight future orbit, but predictions for GR and NG orbits are different (see future barycentric orbits).
solution description | ||
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number of observations | 356 | |
data interval | 2015 11 18 – 2016 07 03 | |
data type | observed only after perihelion (POST) | |
data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 3.01 au – 2.23 au (perihelion) – 2.3 au | |
type of model of motion | NS - non-gravitational orbits for standard g(r) | |
data weighting | YES | |
number of residuals | 695 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.44 | |
orbit quality class | 1b |
orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
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Epoch | 1716 01 26 | |
perihelion date | 2016 05 16.46841436 | ± 0.00091363 |
perihelion distance [au] | 2.22769665 | ± 0.00000778 |
eccentricity | 1.00000098 | ± 0.00001752 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 48.214728 | ± 0.000347 |
ascending node [°] | 114.232764 | ± 0.000009 |
inclination [°] | 87.36008 | ± 0.000262 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | -0.44 | ± 7.87 |
file containing 5001 VCs swarm |
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2015w1n5.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).