407P/PANSTARRS-Fuls
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today13 Jan 202619.12.554 AU1.572 AU 07h29m+25°56'175.3°1.8°159°
Nearest approach23 Jan 202619.02.521 AU1.558 AU 07h20m+26°32'164.7°5.9°114°
Perihelion25 Jul 202619.72.183 AU2.928 AU 10h42m+12°06'35.6°15.7°107°
407P/PANSTARRS-Fuls- 2026-01-13
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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (14.0 + 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 407P/PANSTARRS-Fuls are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3753590
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.1832920
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.87260
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.23950
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 92.97390
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -6.77583
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.86602
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461246.90850
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.53

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-W75

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Active asteroid
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 3.002

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   07 30 50.8   +25 52 37     1.575    2.557  175.8    1.6   174   19.1 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   07 29 55.7   +25 56 34     1.572    2.554  175.3    1.8   160   19.1 
2026-01-13 00:35 UT   07 29 54.3   +25 56 40     1.572    2.554  175.3    1.8   159   19.1 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   07 29 00.3   +26 00 28     1.570    2.551  174.6    2.1   148   19.0 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   07 28 04.9   +26 04 18     1.567    2.547  173.7    2.4   140   19.0 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   07 27 09.4   +26 08 04     1.565    2.544  172.7    2.8   133   19.0 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   07 26 13.9   +26 11 47     1.563    2.541  171.7    3.2   128   19.0 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   07 25 18.6   +26 15 25     1.562    2.538  170.6    3.6   125   19.0 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   07 24 23.6   +26 18 59     1.561    2.534  169.4    4.1   122   19.0 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   07 23 28.8   +26 22 28     1.560    2.531  168.3    4.5   119   19.0 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   07 22 34.4   +26 25 52     1.559    2.528  167.1    5.0   117   19.0 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   07 21 40.5   +26 29 11     1.559    2.525  166.0    5.4   116   19.0 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   07 20 47.2   +26 32 24     1.558    2.521  164.8    5.9   114   19.0 



    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.