C/2021 Q6 PanSTARRS
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Comet C/2021 Q6 was discovered on 22 August 2021 with the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope (Haleakala), that is two years and seven months before its perihelion passage.
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 2 September 2024 (7.76 au), about half a year after its perihelion passage.
Preferred GR solution given here is based on data span over 3.81 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 10.99 au – 8.71 au (perihelion) – 8.80 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that likely lead to escape this comet from the solar system on a marginally hyperbolic orbit.
Comet had its closest approach to the Earth on 2 September 2024 (7.76 au), about half a year after its perihelion passage.
Preferred GR solution given here is based on data span over 3.81 yr in a range of heliocentric distances: 10.99 au – 8.71 au (perihelion) – 8.80 au.
This Oort spike comet suffers tiny planetary perturbations during its passage through the planetary system that likely lead to escape this comet from the solar system on a marginally hyperbolic orbit.
| solution description | ||
|---|---|---|
| number of observations | 371 | |
| data interval | 2021 01 02 – 2024 10 25 | |
| data type | perihelion within the observation arc (FULL) | |
| data arc selection | entire data set (STD) | |
| range of heliocentric distances | 10.99 au – 8.71 au (perihelion) – 8.8 au | |
| 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 | 615 | |
| RMS [arcseconds] | 0.26 | |
| 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] | 32.47 – 33.47 – 34.48 | |
| previous perihelion distance [au] | 616 – 634 – 650 | |
| previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 57.4 – 59.1 – 60.9 | |
| time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 5.03 – 5.24 – 5.46 | |
| percentage of VCs with qprev > 20 | 100 | |
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.
| 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] | 33.22 – 34.07 – 34.91 | |
| previous perihelion distance [au] | 15.3 – 16.5 – 18 | |
| previous aphelion distance [103 au] | 57.3 – 58.7 – 60.2 | |
| time interval to previous perihelion [Myr] | 4.76 – 4.93 – 5.11 | |
| percentage of VCs with 10 < qprev < 20 | 100 | |