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C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach3 Mar 202120.27.935 AU6.968 AU 10h28m-04°49'166.3°1.7°34°
Perihelion3 May 202120.47.926 AU7.493 AU 10h15m+01°40'112.0°6.8°108°
Today1 Jan 202623.612.677 AU12.742 AU 15h25m+47°40'84.0°4.4°314°
C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-01
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)                : 0.9995380
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 7.9262080
    i (Inclination)                 : 75.55630
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 164.00910
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 351.64770
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 161.91185
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.08651
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459337.84220

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 01
    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
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   15 25 00.9   +47 34 23    12.749   12.669   83.1    4.4   316   23.6 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   15 25 27.7   +47 37 37    12.745   12.673   83.6    4.4   315   23.6 
2026-01-01 23:01 UT   15 25 53.1   +47 40 46    12.742   12.677   84.0    4.4   314   23.6 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   15 25 54.1   +47 40 54    12.742   12.678   84.0    4.4   314   23.6 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   15 26 20.4   +47 44 15    12.738   12.682   84.5    4.4   313   23.6 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   15 26 46.3   +47 47 38    12.735   12.686   84.9    4.4   313   23.6 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   15 27 11.9   +47 51 05    12.731   12.690   85.4    4.4   312   23.6 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   15 27 37.3   +47 54 34    12.728   12.694   85.8    4.4   311   23.6 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   15 28 02.3   +47 58 07    12.724   12.699   86.3    4.4   310   23.6 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   15 28 27.1   +48 01 42    12.721   12.703   86.7    4.4   309   23.6 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   15 28 51.5   +48 05 20    12.718   12.707   87.1    4.4   308   23.6 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   15 29 15.6   +48 09 02    12.714   12.711   87.6    4.4   308   23.6 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   15 29 39.4   +48 12 46    12.711   12.715   88.0    4.4   307   23.6 




    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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