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C/2019 A9 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion27 Jul 201912.51.425 AU2.134 AU 07h30m-12°53'34.9°24.1°203°
Nearest approach5 Sep 201912.61.529 AU1.914 AU 09h23m-41°20'52.7°31.6°209°
Today14 Dec 202527.917.042 AU17.874 AU 18h36m+03°20'31.4°1.7°31°
C/2019 A9 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-12-14
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 9.3 + 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 C/2019 A9 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9637930
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.4252580
    i (Inclination)                 : 84.40570
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 278.47390
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.86970
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 287.29695
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -57.43777
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458692.20690
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.97

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPC118842

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); External (P > 200 years)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   18 36 32.9   +03 20 26    17.856   17.033   32.4    1.8    34   27.9 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   18 36 45.9   +03 20 32    17.866   17.038   31.8    1.7    33   27.9 
2025-12-14 19:46 UT   18 36 56.6   +03 20 38    17.874   17.042   31.4    1.7    31   27.9 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   18 36 58.9   +03 20 40    17.875   17.043   31.3    1.7    31   27.9 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   18 37 12.0   +03 20 49    17.885   17.048   30.8    1.7    29   27.9 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   18 37 25.1   +03 20 59    17.894   17.052   30.4    1.7    28   27.9 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   18 37 38.3   +03 21 12    17.903   17.057   29.9    1.6    26   27.9 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   18 37 51.5   +03 21 25    17.911   17.062   29.5    1.6    24   27.9 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   18 38 04.8   +03 21 41    17.920   17.067   29.1    1.6    23   27.9 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   18 38 18.1   +03 21 58    17.928   17.072   28.7    1.6    21   27.9 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   18 38 31.4   +03 22 16    17.936   17.077   28.4    1.6    19   27.9 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   18 38 44.7   +03 22 36    17.943   17.082   28.1    1.6    17   27.9 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   18 38 58.1   +03 22 58    17.951   17.087   27.8    1.5    15   27.9 




    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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