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C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion4 Nov 202016.84.619 AU5.312 AU 17h20m-01°46'41.7°8.2°68°
Nearest approach24 May 202116.54.889 AU3.885 AU 16h39m-17°06'171.3°1.8°243°
Today3 Nov 202525.313.334 AU13.835 AU 10h35m-43°03'57.8°3.6°260°
C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-03
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 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)                : 1.0008620
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.6187780
    i (Inclination)                 : 128.44630
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 66.02210
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 147.77070
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 87.42731
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 24.68839
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459158.29810

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 02
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-DC6

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   10 35 22.0   -42 57 45    13.839   13.325   57.0    3.6   259   25.3 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   10 35 26.1   -43 01 01    13.837   13.330   57.5    3.6   260   25.3 
2025-11-03 15:58 UT   10 35 28.6   -43 03 12    13.835   13.334   57.8    3.6   260   25.3 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   10 35 29.8   -43 04 18    13.835   13.335   58.0    3.6   261   25.3 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   10 35 33.2   -43 07 36    13.832   13.341   58.5    3.6   262   25.3 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   10 35 36.2   -43 10 55    13.829   13.346   59.0    3.6   263   25.3 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   10 35 38.9   -43 14 14    13.827   13.352   59.5    3.7   264   25.3 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   10 35 41.3   -43 17 34    13.824   13.357   60.0    3.7   265   25.3 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   10 35 43.3   -43 20 54    13.821   13.362   60.6    3.7   266   25.3 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   10 35 45.0   -43 24 14    13.818   13.368   61.1    3.7   267   25.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   10 35 46.3   -43 27 35    13.814   13.373   61.7    3.7   267   25.3 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   10 35 47.2   -43 30 56    13.811   13.379   62.2    3.8   268   25.3 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   10 35 47.8   -43 34 18    13.807   13.384   62.8    3.8   269   25.3 




    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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