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C/2021 A9 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion4 Dec 202319.17.767 AU6.979 AU 07h17m+09°29'140.7°4.6°294°
Nearest approach3 Jan 202419.17.770 AU6.811 AU 06h52m+09°09'166.3°1.7°2°
Today3 Jun 202620.99.528 AU10.428 AU 03h48m-00°18'26.1°2.7°209°
C/2021 A9 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-06-03
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. (6.0 + 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 A9 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9999920
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 7.7673310
    i (Inclination)                 : 158.01760
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 314.84830
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 211.69690
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 285.05103
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -11.34278
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460283.32940

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 02
    Reference                       : MPC194172

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   03 48 20.0   +00 18 56    10.429    9.524   25.5    2.6   208   20.9 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   03 48 32.3   +00 18 57    10.428    9.527   26.1    2.7   209   20.9 
2026-06-03 00:47 UT   03 48 32.7   +00 18 57    10.428    9.528   26.1    2.7   209   20.9 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   03 48 44.5   +00 18 60    10.426    9.531   26.7    2.7   211   20.9 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   03 48 56.6   +00 19 05    10.424    9.534   27.3    2.8   212   20.9 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   03 49 08.7   +00 19 12    10.422    9.538   27.9    2.9   214   20.9 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   03 49 20.6   +00 19 22    10.420    9.541   28.6    2.9   215   20.9 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   03 49 32.5   +00 19 34    10.417    9.544   29.2    3.0   217   20.9 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   03 49 44.3   +00 19 48    10.414    9.548   29.9    3.0   218   20.9 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   03 49 55.9   +00 20 04    10.411    9.551   30.6    3.1   219   20.9 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   03 50 07.4   +00 20 23    10.408    9.555   31.2    3.2   220   20.9 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   03 50 18.9   +00 20 44    10.404    9.558   31.9    3.2   221   20.9 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   03 50 30.2   +00 21 07    10.401    9.561   32.7    3.3   222   20.9 




    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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