C/2020 X3 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	14 Dec 2020	6.8	0.005 AU	0.988 AU	17h30m	-23°07'	0.2°	51.1°	55°
Nearest approach	6 Jan 2021	15.9	0.873 AU	0.551 AU	17h14m	-83°40'	62.0°	84.1°	210°
Today	13 Apr 2026	33.7	17.141 AU	17.287 AU	06h37m	-11°18'	79.9°	3.3°	101°

This comet is a sungrazer. 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 17.6 + 5 log[∆] + 8.0 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 X3 (SOHO) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000000
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0050117
    i (Inclination)                 : 143.93683
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 357.16186
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 77.35832
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 282.66910
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 35.05805
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459198.44587

    Epoch                           : 2020 Dec 17
    Reference                       : MPEC 2020-Y19

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   06 36 59.5   -11 21 11    17.256   17.132   81.2    3.3   101   33.7 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   06 37 02.7   -11 19 21    17.276   17.138   80.4    3.3   101   33.7 
2026-04-13 13:19 UT   06 37 04.6   -11 18 20    17.287   17.141   79.9    3.3   101   33.7 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   06 37 06.2   -11 17 32    17.296   17.144   79.6    3.3   102   33.7 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   06 37 09.9   -11 15 43    17.316   17.149   78.8    3.3   102   33.7 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   06 37 13.8   -11 13 56    17.335   17.155   78.0    3.3   103   33.7 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   06 37 18.0   -11 12 10    17.355   17.161   77.2    3.3   103   33.7 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   06 37 22.4   -11 10 25    17.374   17.167   76.4    3.3   104   33.7 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   06 37 26.9   -11 08 40    17.394   17.173   75.6    3.2   105   33.7 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   06 37 31.7   -11 06 57    17.413   17.179   74.8    3.2   105   33.7 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   06 37 36.7   -11 05 15    17.433   17.185   74.1    3.2   106   33.7 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   06 37 41.9   -11 03 35    17.452   17.191   73.3    3.2   106   33.7 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   06 37 47.3   -11 01 55    17.471   17.196   72.5    3.2   107   33.7 

    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.