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C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach3 Mar 202120.27.934 AU6.967 AU 10h28m-04°49'166.3°1.7°34°
Perihelion3 May 202120.47.926 AU7.491 AU 10h15m+01°39'112.1°6.8°108°
Today8 Nov 202523.512.450 AU12.872 AU 14h57m+46°08'62.8°4.1°1°
C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-08
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. (7.0 + 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/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9994730
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 7.9256020
    i (Inclination)                 : 75.55820
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 164.01360
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 351.63950
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 161.91453
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.09452
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459337.74330

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 07
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-P23

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   14 56 38.1   +46 08 52    12.873   12.444   62.4    4.0     2   23.5 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   14 57 11.7   +46 08 48    12.872   12.448   62.6    4.1     1   23.5 
2025-11-08 10:41 UT   14 57 26.6   +46 08 48    12.872   12.450   62.8    4.1     1   23.5 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   14 57 45.2   +46 08 48    12.872   12.453   62.9    4.1     0   23.5 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   14 58 18.9   +46 08 51    12.872   12.457   63.2    4.1   360   23.5 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   14 58 52.5   +46 08 58    12.871   12.461   63.5    4.1   359   23.5 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   14 59 26.1   +46 09 09    12.870   12.465   63.8    4.1   358   23.5 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   14 59 59.7   +46 09 23    12.869   12.469   64.1    4.1   357   23.5 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   15 00 33.3   +46 09 41    12.869   12.473   64.4    4.1   356   23.5 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   15 01 06.8   +46 10 03    12.868   12.477   64.7    4.1   355   23.5 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   15 01 40.4   +46 10 28    12.867   12.482   65.0    4.1   354   23.5 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   15 02 13.9   +46 10 58    12.865   12.486   65.4    4.1   353   23.5 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   15 02 47.4   +46 11 31    12.864   12.490   65.7    4.1   352   23.5 




    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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