2I/Borisov
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion9 Dec 201915.61.998 AU1.974 AU 11h27m-18°35'77.0°28.7°290°
Nearest approach28 Dec 201915.72.042 AU1.919 AU 11h58m-33°16'82.7°28.5°293°
Today21 Nov 202535.642.693 AU43.422 AU 17h57m-53°31'41.6°0.9°131°
2I/Borisov- 2025-11-21
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 11.2 + 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 2I/Borisov are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 3.3459520
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.9977240
    i (Inclination)                 : 44.26240
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 307.80240
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 209.29110
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 329.68965
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -19.96632
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458826.55720

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-R69

    Classification(s):              : Interstellar

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   17 57 12.9   -53 32 07    43.374   42.659   42.8    0.9   129   35.6 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   17 57 21.5   -53 31 44    43.401   42.678   42.1    0.9   130   35.6 
2025-11-21 19:07 UT   17 57 28.5   -53 31 26    43.422   42.693   41.6    0.9   131   35.6 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   17 57 30.2   -53 31 21    43.427   42.697   41.5    0.9   131   35.6 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   17 57 39.0   -53 30 59    43.453   42.716   40.8    0.9   132   35.6 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   17 57 47.9   -53 30 38    43.479   42.735   40.2    0.9   134   35.6 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   17 57 56.8   -53 30 18    43.505   42.754   39.6    0.8   135   35.7 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   17 58 05.7   -53 29 58    43.531   42.773   39.0    0.8   136   35.7 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   17 58 14.8   -53 29 38    43.556   42.791   38.4    0.8   137   35.7 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   17 58 23.8   -53 29 20    43.581   42.810   37.8    0.8   138   35.7 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   17 58 33.0   -53 29 02    43.606   42.829   37.2    0.8   140   35.7 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   17 58 42.2   -53 28 44    43.631   42.848   36.7    0.8   141   35.7 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   17 58 51.4   -53 28 28    43.655   42.867   36.1    0.8   142   35.7 



    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.