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	8 Jan 2026	37.5	17.951 AU	17.444 AU	11h06m	+00°05'	119.6°	2.7°	296°

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
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   11 06 28.4   +00 04 55    17.453   17.944  118.5    2.8   296   37.5 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   11 06 21.9   +00 05 20    17.444   17.950  119.6    2.7   296   37.5 
2026-01-08 00:48 UT   11 06 21.7   +00 05 21    17.444   17.951  119.6    2.7   296   37.5 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   11 06 15.2   +00 05 48    17.435   17.957  120.6    2.7   296   37.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   11 06 08.4   +00 06 16    17.427   17.963  121.7    2.7   296   37.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   11 06 01.3   +00 06 46    17.418   17.969  122.7    2.6   296   37.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   11 05 54.0   +00 07 18    17.410   17.976  123.7    2.6   296   37.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   11 05 46.6   +00 07 50    17.402   17.982  124.8    2.6   296   37.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   11 05 38.9   +00 08 24    17.394   17.988  125.8    2.5   297   37.5 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   11 05 31.1   +00 08 60    17.386   17.995  126.9    2.5   297   37.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   11 05 23.1   +00 09 37    17.379   18.001  127.9    2.5   297   37.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   11 05 14.9   +00 10 15    17.372   18.007  129.0    2.4   297   37.5 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   11 05 06.6   +00 10 54    17.365   18.014  130.0    2.4   297   37.5 

    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.