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C/2018 W2 (Africano)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion5 Sep 201910.21.465 AU0.856 AU 02h47m+52°33'103.2°42.1°240°
Nearest approach27 Sep 20199.11.497 AU0.503 AU 23h56m+14°09'166.7°8.9°161°
Today7 Nov 202530.117.595 AU18.269 AU 12h37m-54°30'45.9°2.3°227°
C/2018 W2 (Africano)- 2025-11-07
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 8.5 + 5 log[∆] + 12.3 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/2018 W2 (Africano) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0009650
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.4648460
    i (Inclination)                 : 116.51060
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 182.02480
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 158.25220
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 192.12113
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.36361
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458732.39590

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 06
    Reference                       : MPEC 2021-P47

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   12 37 19.9   -54 28 04    18.264   17.587   45.7    2.3   225   30.1 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   12 37 36.4   -54 29 53    18.268   17.592   45.8    2.3   226   30.1 
2025-11-07 10:27 UT   12 37 43.6   -54 30 41    18.269   17.595   45.9    2.3   227   30.1 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   12 37 52.8   -54 31 43    18.271   17.598   46.0    2.3   227   30.1 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   12 38 08.9   -54 33 35    18.274   17.603   46.2    2.3   229   30.1 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   12 38 24.9   -54 35 29    18.277   17.609   46.3    2.3   230   30.1 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   12 38 40.6   -54 37 24    18.280   17.614   46.5    2.3   231   30.1 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   12 38 56.2   -54 39 20    18.283   17.620   46.7    2.3   232   30.1 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   12 39 11.5   -54 41 18    18.285   17.626   47.0    2.4   234   30.1 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   12 39 26.7   -54 43 17    18.288   17.631   47.2    2.4   235   30.1 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   12 39 41.6   -54 45 17    18.290   17.637   47.5    2.4   236   30.1 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   12 39 56.3   -54 47 19    18.292   17.642   47.7    2.4   237   30.1 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   12 40 10.8   -54 49 22    18.293   17.648   48.0    2.4   239   30.1 




    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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