|
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Nearest approach | 25 Apr 2017 | 16.2 | 5.908 AU | 5.047 AU | 12h45m | -41°46' | 146.0° | 5.5° | 39° |
| Perihelion | 6 Jun 2017 | 16.2 | 5.900 AU | 5.296 AU | 12h37m | -33°57' | 122.3° | 8.4° | 97° |
| Today | 12 Feb 2026 | 27.1 | 19.590 AU | 19.921 AU | 19h14m | +46°48' | 69.1° | 2.7° | 321° |
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-02-12
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) : 1.0042450
q (Perihelion distance) : 5.9004620
i (Inclination) : 70.66670
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 220.75970
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 334.15000
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 211.64716
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -24.29464
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2457911.28810
Epoch : 2026 Feb 11
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
2026-02-11 00:00 UT 19 13 58.2 +46 45 53 19.917 19.584 68.9 2.7 323 27.1
2026-02-12 00:00 UT 19 14 15.2 +46 47 51 19.920 19.588 69.0 2.7 322 27.1
2026-02-12 09:30 UT 19 14 21.8 +46 48 38 19.921 19.590 69.1 2.7 321 27.1
2026-02-13 00:00 UT 19 14 32.0 +46 49 51 19.922 19.593 69.1 2.7 321 27.1
2026-02-14 00:00 UT 19 14 48.6 +46 51 52 19.925 19.598 69.3 2.7 320 27.1
2026-02-15 00:00 UT 19 15 05.1 +46 53 56 19.927 19.602 69.4 2.7 319 27.1
2026-02-16 00:00 UT 19 15 21.4 +46 56 02 19.930 19.607 69.5 2.7 318 27.1
2026-02-17 00:00 UT 19 15 37.5 +46 58 10 19.932 19.611 69.7 2.7 317 27.1
2026-02-18 00:00 UT 19 15 53.4 +47 00 20 19.934 19.616 69.8 2.7 316 27.1
2026-02-19 00:00 UT 19 16 09.2 +47 02 32 19.937 19.621 70.0 2.7 315 27.1
2026-02-20 00:00 UT 19 16 24.7 +47 04 45 19.939 19.625 70.1 2.7 314 27.1
2026-02-21 00:00 UT 19 16 40.1 +47 07 01 19.941 19.630 70.3 2.7 313 27.1
2026-02-22 00:00 UT 19 16 55.3 +47 09 18 19.943 19.634 70.5 2.7 312 27.1
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.
