C/2017 S6 Catalina
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Comet C/2017 S6 was discovered on 30 September 2017 during Catalina Sky Survey, that is 5 months before its perihelion passage. Next, single measurements were found taken at Kitt Peakon 26 February 2017. Comet was observed only on its pre-perihelion leg of orbit until 24 January 2018 (about one month before perihelion). Comet had closest approach to the Earth on 26 November 2017 (1.212 au, about two months after discovery).
Only GR orbit is possible to obtain. GR solution 'a5' is based on data spanning over 0.934 yr in a range of heliocentric distances from 4.67 au to 1.61 au along pre-peperihelion orbital leg whereas 'p2' is based on shorter data arc spanning over 0.79 yr to a heliocentric distance of 1.95 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations while passing through the planetary system and these perturbations lead to escape the comet from the planetary zone on a hyperbolic orbit (see future barycentric orbit).
Only GR orbit is possible to obtain. GR solution 'a5' is based on data spanning over 0.934 yr in a range of heliocentric distances from 4.67 au to 1.61 au along pre-peperihelion orbital leg whereas 'p2' is based on shorter data arc spanning over 0.79 yr to a heliocentric distance of 1.95 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations while passing through the planetary system and these perturbations lead to escape the comet from the planetary zone on a hyperbolic orbit (see future barycentric orbit).
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 272 | |
| data interval | 2017 02 16 – 2018 01 24 | |
| data type | observed only before perihelion (PRE) | |
| data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 4.67 au – 1.61au | |
| detectability of NG effects in the comet's motion | NG effects not determinable | |
| type of model of motion | GR - gravitational orbit | |
| data weighting | YES | |
| number of residuals | 526 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.59 | |
| orbit quality class | 1b | |
| orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Epoch | 1718 03 08 | |
| perihelion date | 2018 02 28.04632613 | ± 0.00084133 |
| perihelion distance [au] | 1.54733517 | ± 0.00000617 |
| eccentricity | 0.99988497 | ± 0.00001295 |
| argument of perihelion [°] | 134.696338 | ± 0.000494 |
| ascending node [°] | 130.848289 | ± 0.000081 |
| inclination [°] | 152.89638 | ± 0.000029 |
| reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 74.34 | ± 8.37 |
| file containing 5001 VCs swarm |
|---|
| 2017s6a5.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.