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P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach20 Jul 202321.32.623 AU1.675 AU 19h25m-46°23'153.4°10.0°18°
Perihelion2 Mar 202422.22.296 AU3.255 AU 23h43m-08°20'12.1°5.2°96°
Today19 Sep 202625.53.967 AU4.952 AU 11h36m+11°42'10.2°2.6°349°
P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-09-19
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 16.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2690290
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.2957480
    i (Inclination)                 : 15.36650
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 31.05890
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 325.56060
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 357.58580
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.61895
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460372.41290
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.57

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 18
    Reference                       : MPC194159

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Active asteroid
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 3.100

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   11 35 31.6   +11 50 09     4.953    3.966    9.8    2.5   352   25.5 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   11 36 33.4   +11 42 40     4.952    3.967   10.2    2.6   349   25.5 
2026-09-19 00:33 UT   11 36 34.8   +11 42 30     4.952    3.967   10.2    2.6   349   25.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   11 37 35.0   +11 35 13     4.950    3.967   10.6    2.7   346   25.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   11 38 36.6   +11 27 46     4.949    3.968   11.0    2.8   343   25.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   11 39 38.2   +11 20 21     4.947    3.968   11.5    2.9   340   25.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   11 40 39.7   +11 12 56     4.945    3.969   11.9    3.0   338   25.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   11 41 41.1   +11 05 33     4.943    3.969   12.4    3.1   335   25.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   11 42 42.4   +10 58 11     4.941    3.969   12.9    3.2   333   25.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   11 43 43.7   +10 50 50     4.938    3.970   13.5    3.4   331   25.5 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   11 44 44.9   +10 43 30     4.935    3.970   14.0    3.5   330   25.5 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   11 45 46.0   +10 36 12     4.932    3.971   14.6    3.6   328   25.5 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   11 46 47.1   +10 28 55     4.929    3.971   15.2    3.8   326   25.5 




    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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