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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach28 Dec 20199.82.337 AU1.526 AU 03h34m+52°33'136.2°16.9°115°
Perihelion6 May 20208.61.601 AU1.701 AU 07h03m+75°21'66.9°35.4°67°
Today9 Apr 202622.716.930 AU16.899 AU 20h18m-66°09'90.1°3.4°251°
C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-04-09
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 5.7 + 5 log[∆] + 8.9 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 T2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9990830
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6011600
    i (Inclination)                 : 57.26040
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 64.39430
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 92.77680
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 339.51902
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 57.15592
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458976.22580
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 72962.23

    Epoch                           : 2026 Apr 08
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); External (P > 200 years)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   20 18 42.0   -66 06 03    16.907   16.923   89.2    3.4   251   22.7 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   20 18 53.6   -66 08 29    16.901   16.928   89.8    3.4   251   22.7 
2026-04-09 07:28 UT   20 18 57.1   -66 09 15    16.899   16.930   90.1    3.4   251   22.7 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   20 19 04.7   -66 10 57    16.894   16.934   90.5    3.4   252   22.7 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   20 19 15.3   -66 13 26    16.888   16.940   91.2    3.4   252   22.7 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   20 19 25.3   -66 15 56    16.881   16.945   91.9    3.4   253   22.7 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   20 19 34.8   -66 18 27    16.875   16.951   92.6    3.4   254   22.7 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   20 19 43.8   -66 20 60    16.869   16.956   93.3    3.4   254   22.7 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   20 19 52.2   -66 23 33    16.862   16.962   94.0    3.4   255   22.7 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   20 20 00.1   -66 26 08    16.856   16.968   94.7    3.4   256   22.7 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   20 20 07.4   -66 28 43    16.850   16.973   95.3    3.4   256   22.7 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   20 20 14.2   -66 31 20    16.843   16.979   96.0    3.4   257   22.7 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   20 20 20.4   -66 33 57    16.837   16.984   96.7    3.4   258   22.7 




    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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