|
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 | 9.211 AU | 19h42m | +36°03' | 63.9° | 5.8° | 299° |
| Today | 30 Jan 2026 | 20.9 | 13.288 AU | 12.674 AU | 09h57m | +69°54' | 126.8° | 3.4° | 200° |
C/2019 O3 (Palomar)- 2026-01-30
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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) : 1.0018500
q (Perihelion distance) : 8.8201960
i (Inclination) : 89.79100
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 300.48300
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 60.07840
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 300.84614
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 60.07774
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459281.07140
Epoch : 2026 Jan 29
Reference : MPC182878
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-01-29 00:00 UT 09 59 05.5 +69 53 24 12.667 13.283 127.0 3.4 202 20.9
2026-01-30 00:00 UT 09 58 06.8 +69 54 12 12.673 13.287 126.8 3.4 201 20.9
2026-01-30 05:55 UT 09 57 52.3 +69 54 24 12.674 13.288 126.8 3.4 200 20.9
2026-01-31 00:00 UT 09 57 07.9 +69 54 56 12.678 13.291 126.7 3.4 199 20.9
2026-02-01 00:00 UT 09 56 08.6 +69 55 35 12.684 13.295 126.6 3.4 198 20.9
2026-02-02 00:00 UT 09 55 09.2 +69 56 08 12.690 13.299 126.4 3.4 196 20.9
2026-02-03 00:00 UT 09 54 09.5 +69 56 37 12.696 13.302 126.2 3.4 195 20.9
2026-02-04 00:00 UT 09 53 09.6 +69 57 00 12.703 13.306 126.0 3.4 193 20.9
2026-02-05 00:00 UT 09 52 09.6 +69 57 18 12.709 13.310 125.8 3.4 192 20.9
2026-02-06 00:00 UT 09 51 09.5 +69 57 32 12.716 13.314 125.6 3.5 190 20.9
2026-02-07 00:00 UT 09 50 09.3 +69 57 39 12.723 13.318 125.3 3.5 189 20.9
2026-02-08 00:00 UT 09 49 09.0 +69 57 42 12.730 13.322 125.1 3.5 187 20.9
2026-02-09 00:00 UT 09 48 08.7 +69 57 39 12.738 13.326 124.8 3.5 186 20.9
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.
