C/2020 H6 ATLAS
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Comet C/2020 H6 was discovered on 22 April 2020, about 1.3 yr before its perihelion passage. This comet was observed until 8 January 2024 (as in February 2025).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 30 April 2021 (3.86 au); about six months before its perihelion passage.
The preferred NG solution ('bd') given here is based on data span over 3.72 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 6.22 au – 4.70 au (perihelion) – 7.80 au. Orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently are also presented.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a significantly more tight future orbit (semimajor axis of about 2,000 au).
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 30 April 2021 (3.86 au); about six months before its perihelion passage.
The preferred NG solution ('bd') given here is based on data span over 3.72 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 6.22 au – 4.70 au (perihelion) – 7.80 au. Orbits based on pre-perihelion and post-perihelion data independently are also presented.
This Oort spike comet suffers moderate planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that lead to a significantly more tight future orbit (semimajor axis of about 2,000 au).
solution description | ||
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number of observations | 2108 | |
data interval | 2020 04 22 – 2024 01 08 | |
data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
range of heliocentric distances | 6.22 au – 4.70 au (perihelion) – 7.8 au | |
type of model of motion | CT - non-gravitational orbits for assymetric CO-g(r)-like function | |
data weighting | YES | |
number of residuals | 4166 | |
RMS [arcseconds] | 0.38 | |
orbit quality class | 1a+ |
orbital elements (barycentric ecliptic J2000) | ||
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Epoch | 1716 12 11 | |
perihelion date | 2021 09 30.35585578 | ± 0.00246695 |
perihelion distance [au] | 4.70583424 | ± 0.00001112 |
eccentricity | 0.99995060 | ± 0.00000929 |
argument of perihelion [°] | 20.298493 | ± 0.000255 |
ascending node [°] | 213.635447 | ± 0.000034 |
inclination [°] | 79.934645 | ± 0.000037 |
reciprocal semi-major axis [10-6 au-1] | 10.50 | ± 1.97 |
file containing 5001 VCs swarm |
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2020h6t4.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).