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P/2020 R5 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion26 May 202020.53.431 AU3.887 AU 00h20m+13°07'56.4°14.2°253°
Nearest approach9 Oct 202019.73.502 AU2.531 AU 00h53m+22°21'163.9°4.5°175°
Today22 Oct 202526.16.552 AU7.363 AU 11h33m-08°00'33.2°4.8°278°
P/2020 R5 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-10-22
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (9.5 + 5 log[∆] + 15.0 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 P/2020 R5 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3129410
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.4311450
    i (Inclination)                 : 11.43940
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 272.93700
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 82.74450
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 355.53606
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 11.34658
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458996.30170
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 11.16

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 21
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-C45

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.866

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   11 32 27.8   -07 53 55     7.374    6.552   32.1    4.6   277   26.1 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   11 33 01.3   -07 58 26     7.366    6.552   32.9    4.7   278   26.1 
2025-10-22 08:21 UT   11 33 13.0   -08 00 00     7.363    6.552   33.2    4.8   278   26.1 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   11 33 34.7   -08 02 57     7.357    6.553   33.7    4.8   278   26.1 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   11 34 07.8   -08 07 27     7.348    6.553   34.5    4.9   279   26.1 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   11 34 40.8   -08 11 57     7.339    6.553   35.3    5.0   279   26.1 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   11 35 13.4   -08 16 27     7.330    6.553   36.1    5.1   280   26.1 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   11 35 45.9   -08 20 57     7.321    6.553   36.9    5.2   280   26.1 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   11 36 18.1   -08 25 26     7.311    6.553   37.7    5.3   280   26.1 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   11 36 50.1   -08 29 55     7.301    6.553   38.5    5.4   281   26.1 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   11 37 21.8   -08 34 23     7.291    6.553   39.3    5.5   281   26.1 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   11 37 53.2   -08 38 51     7.281    6.554   40.2    5.6   281   26.1 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   11 38 24.4   -08 43 19     7.271    6.554   41.0    5.7   282   26.1 




    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.

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