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C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion23 Apr 20169.41.313 AU1.933 AU 23h36m+00°32'38.9°28.8°250°
Nearest approach22 Jun 20167.81.586 AU0.627 AU 19h54m-45°58'148.7°19.4°307°
Today21 Jan 202627.624.454 AU23.860 AU 11h20m-08°06'126.1°1.9°302°
C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-21
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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 6.8 + 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 C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0009400
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3130830
    i (Inclination)                 : 163.07550
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 132.04970
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 165.48030
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 145.96550
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.18547
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2457502.10780

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 20
    Reference                       : MPC111767

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   11 20 23.8   -08 07 03    23.873   24.446  124.6    1.9   302   27.6 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   11 20 17.1   -08 06 44    23.864   24.451  125.6    1.9   302   27.6 
2026-01-21 11:28 UT   11 20 13.8   -08 06 34    23.860   24.454  126.1    1.9   302   27.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   11 20 10.2   -08 06 23    23.855   24.456  126.7    1.9   302   27.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   11 20 03.3   -08 06 01    23.846   24.461  127.7    1.8   302   27.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   11 19 56.2   -08 05 38    23.838   24.466  128.7    1.8   303   27.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   11 19 49.0   -08 05 14    23.829   24.471  129.7    1.8   303   27.6 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   11 19 41.6   -08 04 49    23.821   24.475  130.7    1.7   304   27.6 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   11 19 34.2   -08 04 22    23.813   24.480  131.7    1.7   304   27.6 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   11 19 26.7   -08 03 55    23.805   24.485  132.7    1.7   304   27.6 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   11 19 19.0   -08 03 26    23.798   24.490  133.7    1.7   305   27.6 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   11 19 11.2   -08 02 56    23.791   24.495  134.7    1.6   305   27.6 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   11 19 03.3   -08 02 25    23.783   24.499  135.7    1.6   306   27.6 




    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.

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