A/2020 M4 |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
Perihelion | 23 Nov 2020 | 22.1 | 5.947 AU | 6.887 AU | 16h16m | -04°31' | 16.6° | 2.7° | 15° |
Nearest approach | 4 May 2021 | 21.6 | 6.056 AU | 5.102 AU | 15h23m | +02°35' | 159.3° | 3.4° | 205° |
Today | 29 Mar 2024 | 23.9 | 10.070 AU | 9.168 AU | 10h51m | +05°33' | 153.3° | 2.6° | 109° |
A/2020 M4- 2024-03-29
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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.)
The orbital elements of A/2020 M4 are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0008590
q (Perihelion distance) : 5.9470440
i (Inclination) : 160.11810
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 348.62330
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 104.58330
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 63.15870
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 19.21573
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459177.33690
Epoch : 2024 Mar 28
Reference : MPEC 2023-N01
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC.
The gray curve indicates the expected brightness if this object is a comet (14.50 + 5 log[∆] + 5.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve indicates the expected lightcurve for an asteroid (H=13.80; G=.15).
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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.
The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.
A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.
Ephemerides:
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2024-03-29 00:00 UT 10 52 09.6 +05 32 52 9.163 10.068 153.7 2.5 109 23.9
2024-03-29 10:00 UT 10 51 57.1 +05 33 51 9.168 10.070 153.3 2.6 109 23.9
2024-03-30 00:00 UT 10 51 39.6 +05 35 13 9.175 10.073 152.6 2.6 109 23.9
2024-03-31 00:00 UT 10 51 09.8 +05 37 33 9.188 10.078 151.5 2.7 109 23.9
2024-04-01 00:00 UT 10 50 40.3 +05 39 51 9.202 10.083 150.4 2.8 110 23.9
2024-04-02 00:00 UT 10 50 11.1 +05 42 08 9.215 10.088 149.3 2.9 110 23.9
2024-04-03 00:00 UT 10 49 42.2 +05 44 23 9.229 10.093 148.2 3.0 110 24.0
2024-04-04 00:00 UT 10 49 13.6 +05 46 36 9.243 10.097 147.1 3.1 110 24.0
2024-04-05 00:00 UT 10 48 45.3 +05 48 48 9.258 10.102 146.0 3.2 110 24.0
2024-04-06 00:00 UT 10 48 17.3 +05 50 58 9.272 10.107 144.9 3.3 110 24.0
2024-04-07 00:00 UT 10 47 49.7 +05 53 06 9.287 10.112 143.8 3.4 110 24.0
2024-04-08 00:00 UT 10 47 22.3 +05 55 12 9.303 10.117 142.7 3.4 110 24.0
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.