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C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach25 Apr 201716.15.907 AU5.046 AU 12h45m-41°47'146.0°5.5°39°
Perihelion6 Jun 201716.25.899 AU5.297 AU 12h37m-33°55'122.1°8.4°97°
Today21 Jun 202627.320.181 AU19.935 AU 19h15m+52°02'102.6°2.8°198°
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-06-21
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 .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)                : 1.0042630
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 5.8989970
    i (Inclination)                 : 70.66580
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 220.73450
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 334.15000
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 211.62155
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -24.29450
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2457911.46890

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 20
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-L50

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   19 15 51.6   +52 01 57    19.934   20.177  102.4    2.8   199   27.3 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   19 15 36.7   +52 02 56    19.935   20.181  102.6    2.8   198   27.3 
2026-06-21 01:07 UT   19 15 36.0   +52 02 59    19.935   20.181  102.6    2.8   198   27.3 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   19 15 21.7   +52 03 52    19.936   20.186  102.8    2.8   197   27.3 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   19 15 06.6   +52 04 45    19.938   20.190  103.0    2.8   196   27.3 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   19 14 51.4   +52 05 36    19.939   20.195  103.1    2.8   195   27.3 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   19 14 36.1   +52 06 23    19.941   20.199  103.3    2.8   194   27.3 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   19 14 20.7   +52 07 08    19.942   20.204  103.5    2.8   193   27.3 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   19 14 05.3   +52 07 49    19.944   20.209  103.7    2.8   192   27.3 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   19 13 49.7   +52 08 28    19.945   20.213  103.8    2.8   191   27.3 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   19 13 34.2   +52 09 04    19.947   20.218  104.0    2.8   190   27.3 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   19 13 18.5   +52 09 37    19.949   20.222  104.2    2.8   189   27.3 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   19 13 02.8   +52 10 06    19.951   20.227  104.3    2.8   188   27.3 




    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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