C/2020 X3 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	14 Dec 2020	-0.8	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	18 Sep 2025	33.3	15.901 AU	16.209 AU	07h04m	-11°35'	70.4°	3.4°	264°

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.)

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
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC. The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (15.00 + 5 log[∆] + 10.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 17.64 + 5 log[∆] + 8.00 log[r]). The additional green curve shows the effect of forward scattering, occurring when the comet is between the earth and the sun, for a gas-to-dust light ratio δ90 of 0.30. (See Marcus 2007)

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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.

The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.

A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   07 04 27.9   -11 34 33    16.211   15.899   70.2    3.4   264   33.3 
2025-09-18 08:01 UT   07 04 29.4   -11 35 14    16.209   15.901   70.4    3.4   264   33.3 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   07 04 32.2   -11 36 36    16.204   15.905   70.9    3.4   264   33.3 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   07 04 36.2   -11 38 40    16.197   15.911   71.7    3.4   265   33.3 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   07 04 40.0   -11 40 44    16.190   15.917   72.5    3.4   265   33.3 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   07 04 43.6   -11 42 48    16.183   15.923   73.3    3.5   266   33.3 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   07 04 46.9   -11 44 53    16.175   15.929   74.1    3.5   267   33.3 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   07 04 50.0   -11 46 58    16.168   15.935   74.8    3.5   267   33.3 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   07 04 52.8   -11 49 03    16.160   15.941   75.6    3.5   268   33.3 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   07 04 55.4   -11 51 09    16.153   15.948   76.4    3.5   268   33.3 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   07 04 57.7   -11 53 15    16.145   15.954   77.2    3.5   269   33.3 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   07 04 59.8   -11 55 21    16.137   15.960   78.0    3.5   269   33.3 

    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.