C/2020 P1 (NEOWISE)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	14 Oct 2020	6.2	0.401 AU	0.656 AU	12h41m	-20°29'	15.0°	139.9°	216°
Perihelion	21 Oct 2020	6.1	0.343 AU	0.729 AU	12h55m	-02°42'	14.6°	133.1°	304°
Today	5 May 2026	30.6	17.295 AU	16.293 AU	15h10m	-12°03'	173.0°	0.4°	234°

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)                : 1.0004560
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.3431850
    i (Inclination)                 : 45.06730
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 53.50470
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 8.95720
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 59.85685
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.32819
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459143.81350

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    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
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   15 10 52.7   -12 04 20    16.289   17.289  172.3    0.4   240   30.6 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   15 10 38.9   -12 03 30    16.293   17.295  173.0    0.4   234   30.6 
2026-05-05 02:06 UT   15 10 37.7   -12 03 26    16.293   17.295  173.0    0.4   234   30.6 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   15 10 25.2   -12 02 40    16.297   17.301  173.5    0.4   227   30.6 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   15 10 11.4   -12 01 50    16.302   17.306  174.0    0.3   219   30.6 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   15 09 57.6   -12 01 00    16.307   17.312  174.3    0.3   209   30.6 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   15 09 43.8   -12 00 11    16.313   17.318  174.5    0.3   199   30.6 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   15 09 30.0   -11 59 22    16.318   17.324  174.5    0.3   188   30.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   15 09 16.2   -11 58 33    16.324   17.330  174.2    0.3   178   30.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   15 09 02.5   -11 57 45    16.330   17.336  173.9    0.4   169   30.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   15 08 48.7   -11 56 57    16.337   17.341  173.3    0.4   161   30.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   15 08 35.0   -11 56 09    16.344   17.347  172.7    0.4   154   30.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   15 08 21.3   -11 55 22    16.351   17.353  172.0    0.5   149   30.6 

    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.