C/2021 O1 (Nishimura)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	6 Aug 2021	9.4	0.800 AU	1.687 AU	08h11m	+30°57'	19.1°	24.5°	316°
Perihelion	15 Aug 2021	9.3	0.783 AU	1.701 AU	09h07m	+28°52'	16.4°	21.4°	333°
Today	10 Oct 2026	27.3	16.039 AU	16.391 AU	17h26m	-43°11'	67.7°	3.3°	102°

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 9.2 + 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 O1 (Nishimura) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0002590
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.7832670
    i (Inclination)                 : 27.52790
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 41.48850
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 74.49480
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 114.11672
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 26.44637
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459441.64660

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194175

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   17 26 06.4   -43 12 52    16.350   16.027   69.5    3.3   101   27.3 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   17 26 16.5   -43 11 57    16.370   16.033   68.6    3.3   102   27.3 
2026-10-10 23:48 UT   17 26 26.7   -43 11 03    16.391   16.039   67.7    3.3   102   27.3 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   17 26 26.8   -43 11 03    16.391   16.039   67.7    3.3   102   27.3 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   17 26 37.4   -43 10 09    16.412   16.045   66.8    3.3   102   27.3 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   17 26 48.3   -43 09 17    16.432   16.051   65.9    3.3   103   27.4 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   17 26 59.4   -43 08 25    16.452   16.057   65.0    3.2   103   27.4 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   17 27 10.9   -43 07 34    16.472   16.063   64.1    3.2   104   27.4 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   17 27 22.5   -43 06 44    16.492   16.069   63.2    3.2   104   27.4 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   17 27 34.5   -43 05 55    16.512   16.075   62.4    3.1   104   27.4 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   17 27 46.7   -43 05 07    16.532   16.081   61.5    3.1   105   27.4 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   17 27 59.2   -43 04 19    16.552   16.087   60.6    3.1   105   27.4 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   17 28 11.9   -43 03 33    16.571   16.092   59.7    3.1   105   27.4 

    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.