|
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Nearest approach | 25 Apr 2017 | 16.2 | 5.909 AU | 5.048 AU | 12h45m | -41°46' | 146.0° | 5.5° | 39° |
| Perihelion | 6 Jun 2017 | 16.2 | 5.901 AU | 5.296 AU | 12h37m | -33°57' | 122.3° | 8.4° | 97° |
| Today | 22 Jan 2026 | 27.0 | 19.493 AU | 19.843 AU | 19h07m | +46°15' | 67.8° | 2.7° | 343° |
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-22
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 .9 + 5 log[∆] + 15.2 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/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS) are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0042470
q (Perihelion distance) : 5.9008160
i (Inclination) : 70.66680
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 220.76300
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 334.15120
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 211.65098
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -24.29354
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2457911.26290
Epoch : 2026 Jan 21
Reference : MPEC 2022-O08
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-01-21 00:00 UT 19 07 31.6 +46 13 36 19.837 19.487 67.8 2.7 344 27.0
2026-01-22 00:00 UT 19 07 51.0 +46 14 44 19.841 19.491 67.8 2.7 343 27.0
2026-01-22 07:14 UT 19 07 56.9 +46 15 05 19.843 19.493 67.8 2.7 343 27.0
2026-01-23 00:00 UT 19 08 10.4 +46 15 54 19.846 19.496 67.8 2.7 342 27.0
2026-01-24 00:00 UT 19 08 29.7 +46 17 07 19.851 19.501 67.8 2.7 341 27.0
2026-01-25 00:00 UT 19 08 48.9 +46 18 23 19.855 19.505 67.8 2.7 340 27.0
2026-01-26 00:00 UT 19 09 08.0 +46 19 41 19.859 19.510 67.8 2.7 339 27.0
2026-01-27 00:00 UT 19 09 27.0 +46 21 01 19.864 19.514 67.9 2.7 338 27.0
2026-01-28 00:00 UT 19 09 46.0 +46 22 24 19.868 19.519 67.9 2.7 337 27.0
2026-01-29 00:00 UT 19 10 04.8 +46 23 49 19.872 19.524 67.9 2.7 336 27.0
2026-01-30 00:00 UT 19 10 23.5 +46 25 17 19.876 19.528 68.0 2.7 335 27.0
2026-01-31 00:00 UT 19 10 42.1 +46 26 48 19.880 19.533 68.0 2.7 334 27.0
2026-02-01 00:00 UT 19 11 00.6 +46 28 20 19.884 19.537 68.1 2.7 333 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.
