C/2020 P4-A (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	6 Aug 2020	8.3	0.126 AU	0.911 AU	09h22m	+18°45'	4.3°	142.9°	59°
Perihelion	8 Aug 2020	7.1	0.091 AU	0.943 AU	09h00m	+17°09'	3.3°	139.8°	288°
Today	13 Oct 2026	38.2	19.677 AU	20.506 AU	11h03m	+00°52'	33.0°	1.6°	285°

This comet is a sunskirter. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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 18.8 + 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 P4-A (SOHO) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0020940
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0907350
    i (Inclination)                 : 26.33730
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 175.20070
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 177.47990
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 172.94191
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.11776
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459069.72160

    Epoch                           : 2021 Feb 13
    Reference                       : MPEC 2020-QN1

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   11 03 47.4   +00 53 44    20.510   19.670   31.9    1.5   285   38.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   11 03 56.3   +00 52 41    20.506   19.676   32.8    1.6   285   38.2 
2026-10-13 04:43 UT   11 03 58.0   +00 52 29    20.506   19.677   33.0    1.6   285   38.2 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   11 04 05.1   +00 51 39    20.503   19.682   33.8    1.6   286   38.2 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   11 04 13.7   +00 50 37    20.499   19.688   34.7    1.7   286   38.3 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   11 04 22.3   +00 49 35    20.495   19.694   35.7    1.7   286   38.3 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   11 04 30.8   +00 48 34    20.491   19.701   36.6    1.7   286   38.3 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   11 04 39.1   +00 47 34    20.486   19.707   37.6    1.8   287   38.3 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   11 04 47.3   +00 46 34    20.482   19.713   38.5    1.8   287   38.3 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   11 04 55.5   +00 45 34    20.477   19.719   39.5    1.8   287   38.3 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   11 05 03.5   +00 44 35    20.472   19.725   40.4    1.9   287   38.3 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   11 05 11.3   +00 43 37    20.466   19.731   41.4    1.9   287   38.3 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   11 05 19.1   +00 42 39    20.461   19.737   42.3    1.9   288   38.3 

    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.