19P/Borrelly
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	30 Oct 2026	23.1	5.273 AU	5.970 AU	17h08m	-28°40'	41.9°	7.2°	102°
Nearest approach	5 Dec 2028	6.6	1.310 AU	0.409 AU	02h33m	-06°30'	135.8°	31.6°	48°
Perihelion	11 Dec 2028	6.6	1.309 AU	0.415 AU	02h28m	+01°38'	134.3°	32.6°	59°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 6.5 + 5 log[∆] + 17.7 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)

Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Orbital elements

The orbital elements of 19P/Borrelly are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6374240
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3085310
    i (Inclination)                 : 29.30100
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 74.21350
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 352.01950
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 67.24325
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.89602
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462117.19360
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.86

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 29
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-R26

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.561

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   17 07 16.5   -28 37 44     5.954    5.278   43.5    7.4   101   23.1 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   17 07 59.9   -28 39 16     5.962    5.275   42.7    7.3   101   23.1 
2026-10-30 22:09 UT   17 08 40.2   -28 40 41     5.970    5.273   41.9    7.2   102   23.1 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   17 08 43.6   -28 40 48     5.970    5.272   41.8    7.2   102   23.1 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   17 09 27.8   -28 42 20     5.978    5.270   41.0    7.1   102   23.1 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   17 10 12.4   -28 43 53     5.986    5.267   40.2    7.0   102   23.1 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   17 10 57.4   -28 45 25     5.994    5.264   39.4    6.9   102   23.1 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   17 11 42.8   -28 46 58     6.001    5.261   38.5    6.7   102   23.1 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   17 12 28.6   -28 48 31     6.008    5.259   37.7    6.6   102   23.1 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   17 13 14.8   -28 50 05     6.015    5.256   36.9    6.5   102   23.1 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   17 14 01.3   -28 51 38     6.022    5.253   36.1    6.4   103   23.1 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   17 14 48.3   -28 53 11     6.028    5.250   35.3    6.3   103   23.1 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   17 15 35.6   -28 54 45     6.034    5.248   34.5    6.1   103   23.1 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km      
    

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.