C/2020 O2 (Amaral)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	10 Jun 2021	15.4	4.888 AU	3.875 AU	16h59m	-22°33'	176.2°	0.8°	98°
Perihelion	26 Aug 2021	15.7	4.851 AU	4.669 AU	16h30m	-11°45'	94.4°	12.0°	100°
Today	9 Aug 2026	22.3	13.169 AU	13.177 AU	00h22m	+71°25'	87.3°	4.4°	224°

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 5.5 + 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 O2 (Amaral) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9988600
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.8513960
    i (Inclination)                 : 71.77150
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 256.76790
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 10.10510
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 259.95873
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 9.59307
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459453.18920
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 277614.93

    Epoch                           : 2026 Aug 09
    Reference                       : MPC194168

    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
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   00 22 53.6   +71 21 30    13.182   13.160   86.5    4.4   226   22.3 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   00 22 33.0   +71 24 00    13.179   13.165   87.0    4.4   225   22.3 
2026-08-09 18:20 UT   00 22 16.8   +71 25 53    13.177   13.169   87.3    4.4   224   22.3 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   00 22 11.7   +71 26 27    13.176   13.170   87.5    4.4   224   22.3 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   00 21 49.7   +71 28 51    13.173   13.176   87.9    4.4   223   22.3 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   00 21 26.9   +71 31 12    13.170   13.181   88.4    4.4   222   22.3 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   00 21 03.3   +71 33 29    13.166   13.186   88.9    4.4   221   22.3 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   00 20 39.0   +71 35 42    13.163   13.192   89.4    4.4   220   22.3 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   00 20 14.0   +71 37 52    13.160   13.197   89.9    4.4   219   22.3 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   00 19 48.3   +71 39 58    13.157   13.202   90.4    4.4   218   22.3 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   00 19 21.9   +71 42 01    13.153   13.208   90.8    4.4   217   22.3 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   00 18 54.7   +71 43 60    13.150   13.213   91.3    4.4   217   22.3 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   00 18 26.9   +71 45 55    13.147   13.218   91.8    4.4   216   22.3 

    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.