C/2020 P1 (NEOWISE)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	14 Oct 2020	6.2	0.402 AU	0.656 AU	12h41m	-20°30'	15.1°	139.9°	216°
Perihelion	21 Oct 2020	6.1	0.344 AU	0.729 AU	12h55m	-02°41'	14.6°	133.1°	304°
Today	12 Sep 2026	31.0	18.046 AU	18.575 AU	14h59m	-11°59'	56.9°	2.7°	103°

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 12.1 + 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 P1 (NEOWISE) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0004620
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.3436300
    i (Inclination)                 : 45.03370
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 53.51080
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 8.96440
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 59.87180
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.32954
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459143.80900

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194169

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   14 59 08.7   -11 58 19    18.551   18.039   58.0    2.7   103   31.0 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   14 59 15.8   -11 59 10    18.571   18.044   57.1    2.7   103   31.0 
2026-09-12 04:54 UT   14 59 17.2   -11 59 21    18.575   18.046   56.9    2.7   103   31.0 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   14 59 23.0   -12 00 01    18.590   18.050   56.2    2.7   103   31.0 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   14 59 30.4   -12 00 53    18.610   18.056   55.2    2.6   103   31.0 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   14 59 38.0   -12 01 45    18.629   18.062   54.3    2.6   103   31.0 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   14 59 45.7   -12 02 38    18.649   18.067   53.4    2.6   103   31.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   14 59 53.6   -12 03 31    18.668   18.073   52.4    2.5   103   31.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   15 00 01.6   -12 04 25    18.687   18.079   51.5    2.5   103   31.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   15 00 09.8   -12 05 19    18.705   18.084   50.6    2.5   102   31.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   15 00 18.2   -12 06 13    18.724   18.090   49.6    2.4   102   31.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   15 00 26.7   -12 07 08    18.742   18.096   48.7    2.4   102   31.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   15 00 35.3   -12 08 03    18.761   18.101   47.8    2.4   102   31.1 

    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.