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C/2019 Y5 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion15 Aug 201917.54.939 AU4.930 AU 04h45m-34°07'84.6°11.8°249°
Nearest approach9 Nov 201917.24.983 AU4.340 AU 03h54m-35°47'125.6°9.3°343°
Today6 Sep 202620.417.029 AU16.965 AU 02h07m+77°47'91.9°3.4°227°
C/2019 Y5 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-09-06
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 13.8 + 5 log[∆] + .4 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 Y5 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9926480
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.9387460
    i (Inclination)                 : 82.79780
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 51.80180
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 303.69180
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 41.15200
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -55.63604
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458711.42320
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 17410.72

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194165

    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
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   02 08 51.4   +77 43 44    16.971   17.021   91.1    3.4   228   20.4 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   02 08 07.7   +77 46 24    16.967   17.026   91.6    3.4   227   20.4 
2026-09-06 13:06 UT   02 07 43.3   +77 47 51    16.965   17.029   91.9    3.4   227   20.4 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   02 07 22.8   +77 49 02    16.963   17.031   92.1    3.4   226   20.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   02 06 36.7   +77 51 37    16.960   17.036   92.6    3.4   225   20.4 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   02 05 49.5   +77 54 09    16.956   17.041   93.1    3.4   224   20.4 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   02 05 01.1   +77 56 39    16.952   17.046   93.6    3.4   223   20.4 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   02 04 11.7   +77 59 05    16.948   17.051   94.2    3.4   222   20.4 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   02 03 21.1   +78 01 28    16.944   17.056   94.7    3.4   221   20.4 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   02 02 29.4   +78 03 47    16.941   17.061   95.1    3.4   220   20.4 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   02 01 36.6   +78 06 04    16.937   17.066   95.6    3.4   219   20.4 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   02 00 42.7   +78 08 17    16.933   17.071   96.1    3.4   218   20.4 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   01 59 47.8   +78 10 27    16.930   17.076   96.6    3.4   217   20.4 




    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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