C/2019 O3 (Palomar)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	23 Jul 2020	16.5	8.918 AU	8.274 AU	19h24m	+32°06'	126.7°	5.2°	166°
Perihelion	7 Mar 2021	16.6	8.820 AU	9.210 AU	19h42m	+36°03'	64.0°	5.8°	299°
Today	7 Jan 2026	20.8	13.201 AU	12.603 AU	10h17m	+69°18'	125.7°	3.5°	235°

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 -7.3 + 5 log[∆] + 20.2 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 O3 (Palomar) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0019360
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 8.8202480
    i (Inclination)                 : 89.79130
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 300.48260
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 60.08060
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 300.84525
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 60.07994
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459281.15930

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 07
    Reference                       : MPC182878

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   10 19 15.7   +69 14 30    12.602   13.194  125.2    3.5   237   20.8 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   10 18 30.5   +69 16 53    12.603   13.198  125.5    3.5   236   20.8 
2026-01-07 19:21 UT   10 17 53.5   +69 18 45    12.603   13.201  125.7    3.5   235   20.8 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   10 17 44.5   +69 19 12    12.604   13.202  125.7    3.5   235   20.8 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   10 16 57.7   +69 21 28    12.605   13.206  125.9    3.5   233   20.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   10 16 10.2   +69 23 42    12.606   13.210  126.1    3.4   232   20.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   10 15 21.9   +69 25 51    12.607   13.213  126.3    3.4   230   20.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   10 14 32.9   +69 27 58    12.609   13.217  126.5    3.4   229   20.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   10 13 43.1   +69 30 00    12.610   13.221  126.6    3.4   227   20.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   10 12 52.6   +69 31 59    12.612   13.225  126.8    3.4   226   20.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   10 12 01.5   +69 33 55    12.615   13.229  126.9    3.4   224   20.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   10 11 09.6   +69 35 46    12.617   13.233  127.0    3.4   223   20.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   10 10 17.2   +69 37 34    12.620   13.237  127.1    3.4   221   20.8 

    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.