|
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Nearest approach | 25 Apr 2017 | 16.1 | 5.907 AU | 5.047 AU | 12h45m | -41°47' | 146.0° | 5.5° | 39° |
| Perihelion | 6 Jun 2017 | 16.2 | 5.899 AU | 5.296 AU | 12h37m | -33°56' | 122.2° | 8.4° | 97° |
| Today | 21 Apr 2026 | 27.2 | 19.903 AU | 19.950 AU | 19h24m | +49°53' | 85.9° | 2.9° | 257° |
C/2017 E3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-04-21
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) : 1.0042460
q (Perihelion distance) : 5.8994290
i (Inclination) : 70.66620
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 220.74690
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 334.14770
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 211.63322
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -24.29670
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2457911.38350
Epoch : 2026 Apr 20
Reference : MPEC 2026-E44
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-04-20 00:00 UT 19 24 30.0 +49 49 46 19.951 19.897 85.4 2.9 258 27.2
2026-04-21 00:00 UT 19 24 29.7 +49 52 42 19.950 19.901 85.7 2.9 257 27.2
2026-04-21 08:45 UT 19 24 29.5 +49 53 46 19.950 19.903 85.9 2.9 257 27.2
2026-04-22 00:00 UT 19 24 29.0 +49 55 37 19.949 19.906 86.1 2.9 256 27.2
2026-04-23 00:00 UT 19 24 28.1 +49 58 32 19.948 19.911 86.4 2.9 255 27.2
2026-04-24 00:00 UT 19 24 26.8 +50 01 25 19.948 19.915 86.7 2.9 254 27.2
2026-04-25 00:00 UT 19 24 25.2 +50 04 18 19.947 19.920 87.0 2.9 253 27.2
2026-04-26 00:00 UT 19 24 23.4 +50 07 10 19.946 19.924 87.3 2.9 252 27.2
2026-04-27 00:00 UT 19 24 21.2 +50 10 01 19.945 19.929 87.6 2.9 251 27.2
2026-04-28 00:00 UT 19 24 18.7 +50 12 52 19.944 19.934 87.9 2.9 250 27.2
2026-04-29 00:00 UT 19 24 15.9 +50 15 41 19.943 19.938 88.3 2.9 250 27.2
2026-04-30 00:00 UT 19 24 12.9 +50 18 29 19.942 19.943 88.6 2.9 249 27.2
2026-05-01 00:00 UT 19 24 09.5 +50 21 16 19.941 19.947 88.9 2.9 248 27.2
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.
