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	1 Oct 2026	34.0	18.132 AU	18.257 AU	07h02m	-12°02'	81.2°	3.1°	271°

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
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   07 02 50.7   -11 59 28    18.270   18.123   79.9    3.1   271   34.0 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   07 02 51.9   -12 01 19    18.262   18.128   80.7    3.1   271   34.0 
2026-10-01 15:34 UT   07 02 52.5   -12 02 32    18.257   18.132   81.2    3.1   271   34.0 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   07 02 52.8   -12 03 11    18.254   18.134   81.5    3.1   272   34.0 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   07 02 53.6   -12 05 03    18.246   18.140   82.3    3.1   272   34.0 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   07 02 54.1   -12 06 54    18.237   18.145   83.1    3.1   273   34.0 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   07 02 54.4   -12 08 46    18.229   18.151   83.9    3.1   273   34.0 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   07 02 54.5   -12 10 37    18.220   18.157   84.7    3.1   274   34.0 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   07 02 54.3   -12 12 29    18.212   18.163   85.6    3.1   274   34.0 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   07 02 53.9   -12 14 20    18.204   18.168   86.4    3.1   275   34.0 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   07 02 53.3   -12 16 11    18.195   18.174   87.2    3.1   276   34.0 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   07 02 52.4   -12 18 02    18.187   18.180   88.0    3.1   276   34.0 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   07 02 51.4   -12 19 52    18.178   18.185   88.8    3.1   277   34.0 

    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.