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P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach21 Jul 202321.32.623 AU1.675 AU 19h26m-46°20'153.4°10.0°17°
Perihelion2 Mar 202422.22.299 AU3.257 AU 23h43m-08°20'12.3°5.3°96°
Today9 Apr 202624.43.831 AU3.276 AU 09h38m+30°51'116.6°13.5°118°
P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-04-09
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)                : 0.2684700
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.2987140
    i (Inclination)                 : 15.35980
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 31.09250
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 325.59570
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 357.65318
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.60749
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460372.18730
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.57

    Epoch                           : 2026 Apr 08
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Active asteroid
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 3.099

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   09 38 22.1   +30 55 53     3.261    3.829  117.6   13.4   118   24.4 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   09 38 11.3   +30 51 32     3.275    3.831  116.7   13.5   118   24.4 
2026-04-09 02:22 UT   09 38 10.3   +30 51 06     3.276    3.831  116.6   13.5   118   24.4 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   09 38 01.7   +30 47 06     3.289    3.832  115.8   13.6   117   24.4 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   09 37 53.4   +30 42 34     3.303    3.833  114.8   13.7   117   24.4 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   09 37 46.2   +30 37 58     3.317    3.834  113.9   13.8   117   24.4 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   09 37 40.3   +30 33 16     3.331    3.835  113.0   13.9   116   24.5 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   09 37 35.5   +30 28 29     3.346    3.837  112.1   14.0   116   24.5 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   09 37 32.0   +30 23 37     3.360    3.838  111.1   14.1   116   24.5 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   09 37 29.6   +30 18 41     3.375    3.839  110.2   14.2   115   24.5 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   09 37 28.4   +30 13 40     3.389    3.840  109.3   14.3   115   24.5 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   09 37 28.4   +30 08 35     3.404    3.841  108.4   14.4   115   24.5 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   09 37 29.6   +30 03 26     3.419    3.843  107.5   14.4   114   24.5 




    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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