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C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach13 Jul 201920.89.155 AU8.500 AU 18h46m+29°34'127.6°5.0°168°
Perihelion3 Aug 202020.78.880 AU8.577 AU 18h11m+49°19'104.1°6.4°140°
Today31 Mar 202623.914.384 AU14.295 AU 07h29m+58°53'93.1°4.0°103°
C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-03-31
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. (6.5 + 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 C/2020 K2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0004590
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 8.8796290
    i (Inclination)                 : 90.99180
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 288.44270
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 67.28460
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 286.07498
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 67.26410
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459064.78850

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 30
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   07 30 06.6   +58 58 15    14.270   14.379   94.3    4.0   104   23.8 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   07 29 58.8   +58 54 42    14.287   14.383   93.5    4.0   103   23.9 
2026-03-31 10:28 UT   07 29 55.6   +58 53 09    14.295   14.384   93.1    4.0   103   23.9 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   07 29 51.6   +58 51 09    14.305   14.387   92.7    4.0   103   23.9 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   07 29 45.0   +58 47 35    14.323   14.391   91.9    4.0   102   23.9 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   07 29 38.9   +58 44 01    14.341   14.394   91.1    4.0   102   23.9 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   07 29 33.4   +58 40 26    14.358   14.398   90.3    4.0   101   23.9 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   07 29 28.5   +58 36 51    14.376   14.402   89.5    4.0   100   23.9 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   07 29 24.1   +58 33 16    14.394   14.406   88.7    4.0   100   23.9 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   07 29 20.2   +58 29 40    14.412   14.410   87.9    4.0    99   23.9 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   07 29 17.0   +58 26 05    14.430   14.414   87.1    4.0    99   23.9 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   07 29 14.2   +58 22 29    14.447   14.418   86.3    4.0    98   23.9 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   07 29 12.0   +58 18 53    14.465   14.422   85.5    4.0    98   23.9 




    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.

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