C/2020 P4-C (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	5 Aug 2020	6.9	0.089 AU	0.950 AU	09h13m	+19°10'	3.6°	135.0°	52°
Nearest approach	6 Aug 2020	8.5	0.136 AU	0.909 AU	08h47m	+17°14'	5.1°	138.1°	278°
Today	30 Aug 2026	40.4	29.297 AU	29.677 AU	06h19m	-11°58'	66.9°	1.8°	255°

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 18.4 + 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-C (SOHO) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0131740
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0890050
    i (Inclination)                 : 37.22490
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 165.56220
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 115.71250
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 106.72532
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 33.02774
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459066.63720

    Epoch                           : 2026 Aug 27
    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
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   06 18 55.9   -11 56 36    29.674   29.274   65.6    1.8   254   40.4 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   06 18 59.7   -11 57 38    29.676   29.288   66.4    1.8   254   40.4 
2026-08-30 15:27 UT   06 19 02.0   -11 58 19    29.677   29.297   66.9    1.8   255   40.4 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   06 19 03.3   -11 58 41    29.677   29.302   67.1    1.8   255   40.4 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   06 19 06.8   -11 59 45    29.679   29.316   67.9    1.8   256   40.4 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   06 19 10.2   -12 00 48    29.680   29.330   68.6    1.8   256   40.4 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   06 19 13.5   -12 01 53    29.682   29.344   69.4    1.8   257   40.4 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   06 19 16.6   -12 02 57    29.683   29.358   70.1    1.9   257   40.4 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   06 19 19.7   -12 04 02    29.684   29.372   70.9    1.9   258   40.4 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   06 19 22.6   -12 05 08    29.685   29.385   71.6    1.9   259   40.4 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   06 19 25.3   -12 06 14    29.686   29.399   72.4    1.9   259   40.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   06 19 28.0   -12 07 20    29.687   29.413   73.2    1.9   260   40.4 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   06 19 30.5   -12 08 26    29.688   29.427   73.9    1.9   261   40.4 

    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.