C/2016 Q2 PANSTARRS
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Comet C/2016 Q2 was discovered on 26 August 2016 with the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope (Haleakala), that is more than 5 years before its perihelion passage. This comet was observed until the end of mid-2024 and is still observable.
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 24 May 2021 (6.805 au), about 2 weeks after its perihelion passage.
Preferred NG solution given here is based on data spanning over 7.63 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 12.58 au – 7.08 au (perihelion) – 9.74 au.
This comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; this is a long-period comet with original and future semimajor axes of about 7,500 au and 6,700 au, respectively.
#********************************** update of 'Oort spike' comets 2016 - 2020, comet no 2; long-period comet
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 24 May 2021 (6.805 au), about 2 weeks after its perihelion passage.
Preferred NG solution given here is based on data spanning over 7.63 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 12.58 au – 7.08 au (perihelion) – 9.74 au.
This comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system; this is a long-period comet with original and future semimajor axes of about 7,500 au and 6,700 au, respectively.
#********************************** update of 'Oort spike' comets 2016 - 2020, comet no 2; long-period comet
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 138 | |
| data interval | 2016 08 26 – 2019 10 29 | |
| data arc selection | data generally limited to pre-perihelion (PRE) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 12.58 au – 7.94au | |
| 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 | 270 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.32 | |
| orbit quality class | 1a | |
| previous orbit statistics, both Galactic and stellar perturbations were taken into account | ||
|---|---|---|
| no. of returning VCs in the swarm | 5001 | * |
| no. of escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
| no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
| previous reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 127.71 – 129.55 – 131.46 | |
| previous perihelion distance [au] | 7.2048 – 7.2119 – 7.2193 | |
| previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 15.2 – 15.4 – 15.7 | |
| time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 0.663 – 0.677 – 0.692 | |
| percentage of VCs with qprev < 10 | 100 | |
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).
| previous_g orbit statistics, here only the Galactic tide has been included | ||
|---|---|---|
| no. of returning VCs in the swarm | 5001 | * |
| no. of escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
| no. of hyperbolas among escaping VCs in the swarm | 0 | |
| previous reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 127.71 – 129.55 – 131.46 | |
| previous perihelion distance [au] | 7.211 – 7.218 – 7.225 | |
| previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 15.2 – 15.4 – 15.7 | |
| time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 0.663 – 0.677 – 0.692 | |
| percentage of VCs with qprev < 10 | 100 | |