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P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach21 Jul 202321.32.624 AU1.675 AU 19h27m-46°19'153.4°10.0°17°
Perihelion2 Mar 202422.22.300 AU3.259 AU 23h44m-08°20'12.4°5.3°95°
Today19 Jan 202624.03.717 AU2.867 AU 10h32m+29°38'145.1°8.7°263°
P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-19
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)                : 0.2682190
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.3001840
    i (Inclination)                 : 15.35670
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 31.17820
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 325.55680
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 357.70012
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.61438
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460372.14320
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.57

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 18
    Reference                       : MPEC 2022-M21

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   10 33 10.0   +29 32 01     2.873    3.715  144.0    8.9   265   24.0 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   10 32 35.9   +29 37 25     2.867    3.716  145.0    8.7   264   24.0 
2026-01-19 02:48 UT   10 32 31.9   +29 38 03     2.867    3.717  145.1    8.7   263   24.0 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   10 32 00.7   +29 42 49     2.862    3.718  145.9    8.5   262   24.0 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   10 31 24.3   +29 48 12     2.856    3.720  146.9    8.3   261   24.0 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   10 30 46.9   +29 53 33     2.851    3.721  147.8    8.1   260   24.0 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   10 30 08.4   +29 58 53     2.846    3.723  148.7    7.9   258   24.0 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   10 29 28.8   +30 04 10     2.842    3.724  149.6    7.7   257   24.0 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   10 28 48.2   +30 09 26     2.837    3.726  150.5    7.5   255   24.0 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   10 28 06.6   +30 14 38     2.833    3.728  151.4    7.3   253   24.0 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   10 27 24.0   +30 19 48     2.830    3.729  152.2    7.1   251   24.0 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   10 26 40.6   +30 24 54     2.826    3.731  153.1    6.9   250   24.0 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   10 25 56.2   +30 29 57     2.823    3.732  153.9    6.7   247   24.0 




    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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