C/2020 F8 (SWAN) - DISINTEGRATED
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Disintegration	2 May 2020	5.2	0.725 AU	0.684 AU	00h04m	-10°52'	46.0°	91.3°	236°
Nearest approach	10 May 2020	5.4	0.573 AU	0.568 AU	01h14m	+17°08'	27.8°	124.7°	264°
Perihelion	25 May 2020	7.4	0.434 AU	0.907 AU	04h18m	+46°18'	25.3°	91.1°	5°
Today	30 Oct 2025	-	16.949 AU	16.316 AU	04h29m	-26°51'	128.2°	2.6°	317°

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 7.8 + 5 log[∆] + 12.2 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/2020 F8 (SWAN) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000520
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.4335620
    i (Inclination)                 : 110.56450
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.81290
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 68.13090
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 218.62197
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 60.33110
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458995.03770

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 29
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-J29

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   04 29 34.5   -26 49 14    16.314   16.943  127.9    2.7   316   28.8 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   04 29 20.4   -26 51 09    16.316   16.949  128.2    2.6   317   28.8 
2025-10-30 01:02 UT   04 29 19.8   -26 51 14    16.316   16.949  128.2    2.6   317   28.8 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   04 29 06.2   -26 53 03    16.317   16.955  128.6    2.6   319   28.8 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   04 28 51.8   -26 54 53    16.319   16.960  128.9    2.6   320   28.8 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   04 28 37.2   -26 56 41    16.321   16.966  129.2    2.6   321   28.8 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   04 28 22.6   -26 58 27    16.324   16.972  129.5    2.6   323   28.8 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   04 28 07.7   -27 00 11    16.326   16.978  129.7    2.6   324   28.8 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   04 27 52.8   -27 01 52    16.329   16.984  130.0    2.6   325   28.8 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   04 27 37.7   -27 03 30    16.332   16.990  130.2    2.6   327   28.8 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   04 27 22.5   -27 05 06    16.335   16.995  130.5    2.5   328   28.8 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   04 27 07.2   -27 06 39    16.338   17.001  130.7    2.5   329   28.8 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   04 26 51.8   -27 08 10    16.342   17.007  130.9    2.5   331   28.8 

    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.