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C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today7 Apr 202614.614.098 AU14.123 AU 05h01m-70°03'86.5°4.1°122°
Perihelion16 Jan 203112.110.960 AU10.836 AU 12h09m-38°50'94.7°5.1°302°
Nearest approach5 Apr 203112.010.968 AU10.122 AU 11h46m-35°39'146.3°2.9°31°
C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)- 2026-04-07
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 -11.5 + 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 C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0043000
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 10.9603590
    i (Inclination)                 : 95.44630
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.99190
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 326.07920
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 193.64406
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -33.74703
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462882.74980

    Epoch                           : 2026 Apr 07
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-FR0

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   04 59 57.9   -70 09 28    14.133   14.103   86.3    4.1   120   14.6 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   05 00 36.1   -70 06 22    14.128   14.100   86.4    4.1   121   14.6 
2026-04-07 22:16 UT   05 01 12.1   -70 03 31    14.123   14.098   86.5    4.1   122   14.6 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   05 01 14.9   -70 03 18    14.123   14.097   86.5    4.1   122   14.6 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   05 01 54.2   -70 00 15    14.118   14.094   86.6    4.1   122   14.6 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   05 02 34.0   -69 57 14    14.113   14.091   86.8    4.1   123   14.6 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   05 03 14.4   -69 54 14    14.108   14.088   86.9    4.1   124   14.6 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   05 03 55.3   -69 51 16    14.103   14.085   87.0    4.1   125   14.6 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   05 04 36.8   -69 48 20    14.098   14.082   87.1    4.1   126   14.6 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   05 05 18.7   -69 45 26    14.093   14.079   87.2    4.1   127   14.6 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   05 06 01.2   -69 42 33    14.088   14.076   87.3    4.1   127   14.6 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   05 06 44.1   -69 39 43    14.083   14.073   87.4    4.1   128   14.6 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   05 07 27.6   -69 36 54    14.078   14.070   87.5    4.1   129   14.6 




    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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