390P/Gibbs
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	13 Aug 2019	18.0	2.827 AU	1.946 AU	19h06m	-07°08'	143.7°	12.2°	105°
Perihelion	22 Mar 2020	16.4	1.708 AU	2.640 AU	01h10m	-02°42'	16.4°	9.5°	101°
Today	18 Oct 2025	27.0	9.632 AU	10.592 AU	13h13m	+04°37'	14.9°	1.5°	342°

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (12.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 390P/Gibbs are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7064360
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7081670
    i (Inclination)                 : 18.51680
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 152.18590
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 232.58080
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 203.28725
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -14.60937
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458930.52770
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 14.04

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 17
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-EF7

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.314

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   13 12 41.7   +04 39 58    10.594    9.631   14.3    1.5   345   27.0 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   13 13 06.3   +04 37 52    10.592    9.632   14.8    1.5   343   27.0 
2025-10-18 02:41 UT   13 13 09.1   +04 37 38    10.592    9.632   14.9    1.5   342   27.0 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   13 13 31.0   +04 35 47    10.590    9.633   15.4    1.6   340   27.0 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   13 13 55.5   +04 33 44    10.588    9.634   16.0    1.6   338   27.0 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   13 14 20.1   +04 31 42    10.585    9.635   16.6    1.7   335   27.0 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   13 14 44.6   +04 29 41    10.582    9.637   17.3    1.8   333   27.0 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   13 15 09.1   +04 27 42    10.579    9.638   17.9    1.8   331   27.0 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   13 15 33.6   +04 25 44    10.576    9.639   18.6    1.9   330   27.0 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   13 15 58.0   +04 23 48    10.573    9.640   19.3    2.0   328   27.0 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   13 16 22.3   +04 21 54    10.569    9.641   20.1    2.0   326   27.0 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   13 16 46.6   +04 20 01    10.565    9.642   20.8    2.1   325   27.0 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   13 17 10.8   +04 18 09    10.561    9.643   21.5    2.2   324   27.0 

    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.