Skip Navigation Links

C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion4 Nov 202016.84.617 AU5.308 AU 17h20m-01°44'41.8°8.2°68°
Nearest approach24 May 202116.54.887 AU3.883 AU 16h39m-17°06'171.3°1.8°243°
Today14 Apr 202625.714.198 AU13.661 AU 09h44m-43°57'120.6°3.5°72°
C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-04-14
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 month
-1 week
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 week
+1 month

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 4.0 + 5 log[∆] + 13.9 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 Y2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0006490
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.6166230
    i (Inclination)                 : 128.44410
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 66.01050
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 147.73590
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 87.44098
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 24.71456
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459158.14220

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    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
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   09 44 39.9   -44 02 41    13.648   14.191  121.0    3.5    71   25.7 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   09 44 23.7   -43 58 48    13.659   14.197  120.7    3.5    72   25.7 
2026-04-14 05:26 UT   09 44 20.0   -43 57 56    13.661   14.198  120.6    3.5    72   25.7 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   09 44 07.8   -43 54 55    13.670   14.202  120.3    3.5    73   25.7 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   09 43 52.3   -43 51 01    13.681   14.207  119.8    3.5    74   25.7 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   09 43 37.3   -43 47 06    13.692   14.212  119.4    3.5    75   25.7 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   09 43 22.7   -43 43 10    13.704   14.218  119.0    3.5    76   25.7 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   09 43 08.4   -43 39 14    13.715   14.223  118.6    3.6    77   25.7 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   09 42 54.6   -43 35 17    13.727   14.228  118.1    3.6    78   25.7 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   09 42 41.1   -43 31 19    13.739   14.234  117.7    3.6    79   25.7 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   09 42 28.1   -43 27 22    13.751   14.239  117.2    3.6    81   25.7 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   09 42 15.5   -43 23 24    13.763   14.244  116.7    3.6    82   25.7 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   09 42 03.3   -43 19 25    13.776   14.250  116.2    3.6    83   25.7 




    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.

Privacy policy