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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach28 Dec 20199.82.334 AU1.524 AU 03h34m+52°47'136.1°17.0°115°
Perihelion6 May 20208.61.602 AU1.699 AU 07h02m+75°30'67.0°35.4°67°
Today23 Nov 202522.416.154 AU16.697 AU 19h12m-65°19'55.2°2.9°120°
C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-23
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[∆] + 8.8 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)                : 0.9990410
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6021950
    i (Inclination)                 : 57.27360
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 64.41810
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 92.77240
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -20.46344
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 57.16939
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458975.92580
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 68288.12

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 22
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-A43

    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
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   19 12 05.8   -65 21 28    16.678   16.146   55.9    2.9   119   22.4 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   19 12 33.2   -65 19 43    16.692   16.152   55.4    2.9   120   22.4 
2025-11-23 09:43 UT   19 12 44.4   -65 19 02    16.697   16.154   55.2    2.9   120   22.4 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   19 13 00.9   -65 18 00    16.705   16.157   54.8    2.9   120   22.4 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   19 13 28.9   -65 16 19    16.719   16.163   54.3    2.8   121   22.4 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   19 13 57.3   -65 14 39    16.732   16.169   53.8    2.8   122   22.4 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   19 14 25.9   -65 13 00    16.745   16.174   53.3    2.8   123   22.4 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   19 14 54.8   -65 11 23    16.758   16.180   52.7    2.8   124   22.4 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   19 15 24.0   -65 09 48    16.771   16.186   52.2    2.8   125   22.4 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   19 15 53.5   -65 08 13    16.783   16.192   51.7    2.7   126   22.4 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   19 16 23.3   -65 06 41    16.796   16.197   51.2    2.7   127   22.4 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   19 16 53.3   -65 05 10    16.808   16.203   50.8    2.7   128   22.4 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   19 17 23.6   -65 03 40    16.820   16.209   50.3    2.7   129   22.4 




    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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