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C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach28 Dec 20199.82.338 AU1.527 AU 03h34m+52°29'136.2°16.9°115°
Perihelion6 May 20208.61.601 AU1.701 AU 07h03m+75°18'66.8°35.4°67°
Today23 May 202622.717.178 AU16.671 AU 20h17m-68°08'118.5°3.0°286°
C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-05-23
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[∆] + 8.9 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)                : 0.9990990
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6009100
    i (Inclination)                 : 57.25500
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 64.38440
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 92.78060
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 339.51536
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 57.15025
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458976.32230
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 74896.79

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 22
    Reference                       : MPC194153

    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
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   20 18 14.8   -68 03 49    16.676   17.169  117.6    3.0   285   22.7 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   20 18 00.7   -68 06 29    16.673   17.174  118.1    3.0   286   22.7 
2026-05-23 16:49 UT   20 17 50.4   -68 08 20    16.671   17.178  118.5    3.0   286   22.7 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   20 17 45.9   -68 09 08    16.670   17.180  118.7    3.0   287   22.7 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   20 17 30.6   -68 11 45    16.668   17.186  119.2    2.9   288   22.7 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   20 17 14.7   -68 14 22    16.665   17.191  119.8    2.9   289   22.7 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   20 16 58.2   -68 16 58    16.663   17.197  120.3    2.9   290   22.7 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   20 16 41.1   -68 19 32    16.661   17.202  120.8    2.9   291   22.7 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   20 16 23.4   -68 22 06    16.659   17.208  121.3    2.9   292   22.7 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   20 16 05.1   -68 24 38    16.657   17.213  121.8    2.9   293   22.7 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   20 15 46.2   -68 27 09    16.655   17.219  122.3    2.9   294   22.7 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   20 15 26.8   -68 29 38    16.654   17.225  122.8    2.8   295   22.7 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   20 15 06.8   -68 32 07    16.652   17.230  123.3    2.8   296   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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