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 | 212 | |
data interval | 2021 05 13 – 2024 04 12 | |
data arc selection | data generally limited to post-perihelion (POS) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 7.08 au – 9.74au | |
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 | 417 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.36 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
orbital elements (heliocentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
---|---|---|
Epoch | 2021 09 23 | |
perihelion date | 2021 05 11.98693572 | ± 0.00173205 |
perihelion distance [au] | 7.08185562 | ± 0.00000941 |
eccentricity | 1.00118993 | ± 0.00000484 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 84.535420 | ± 0.000138 |
ascending node [°] | 322.295275 | ± 0.000012 |
inclination [°] | 109.388399 | ± 0.00001 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | -168.02 | ± 0.68 |

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).