|
C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Perihelion | 24 Apr 2016 | 9.4 | 1.306 AU | 1.918 AU | 23h37m | +00°42' | 39.3° | 29.2° | 250° |
| Nearest approach | 23 Jun 2016 | 7.7 | 1.576 AU | 0.617 AU | 19h55m | -46°09' | 148.6° | 19.7° | 307° |
| Today | 2 Jul 2026 | 27.9 | 25.229 AU | 25.566 AU | 11h04m | -05°50' | 69.5° | 2.2° | 117° |
C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-07-02
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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) : 1.0009090
q (Perihelion distance) : 1.3056880
i (Inclination) : 163.05370
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 132.03560
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 165.47890
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 145.95120
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 4.19111
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2457502.90050
Epoch : 2026 Jul 01
Reference : MPC194135
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-07-01 00:00 UT 11 04 19.5 -05 50 48 25.533 25.221 71.0 2.2 117 27.9
2026-07-02 00:00 UT 11 04 22.6 -05 50 39 25.553 25.226 70.1 2.2 117 27.9
2026-07-02 15:04 UT 11 04 24.6 -05 50 34 25.566 25.229 69.5 2.2 117 27.9
2026-07-03 00:00 UT 11 04 25.8 -05 50 31 25.574 25.231 69.2 2.2 117 27.9
2026-07-04 00:00 UT 11 04 29.2 -05 50 24 25.594 25.235 68.3 2.1 118 27.9
2026-07-05 00:00 UT 11 04 32.6 -05 50 19 25.614 25.240 67.3 2.1 118 27.9
2026-07-06 00:00 UT 11 04 36.2 -05 50 14 25.634 25.245 66.4 2.1 118 27.9
2026-07-07 00:00 UT 11 04 39.9 -05 50 10 25.654 25.250 65.5 2.1 118 27.9
2026-07-08 00:00 UT 11 04 43.7 -05 50 07 25.674 25.254 64.6 2.1 118 27.9
2026-07-09 00:00 UT 11 04 47.7 -05 50 05 25.693 25.259 63.7 2.1 119 27.9
2026-07-10 00:00 UT 11 04 51.7 -05 50 05 25.713 25.264 62.7 2.0 119 27.9
2026-07-11 00:00 UT 11 04 55.9 -05 50 05 25.732 25.269 61.8 2.0 119 27.9
2026-07-12 00:00 UT 11 05 00.1 -05 50 06 25.751 25.273 60.9 2.0 119 27.9
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.
