C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) - DISINTEGRATED
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Disintegration	21 Apr 2022	9.4	0.285 AU	0.978 AU	02h50m	+03°12'	16.5°	87.1°	122°
Perihelion	21 Apr 2022	-	0.285 AU	0.964 AU	02h52m	+03°35'	16.5°	90.0°	121°
Nearest approach	8 May 2022	12.3	0.590 AU	0.605 AU	04h00m	+46°49'	32.0°	115.1°	27°
Today	12 Feb 2026	-	13.450 AU	14.007 AU	19h37m	+30°53'	54.0°	3.4°	321°

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 12.6 + 5 log[∆] + 5.7 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 O3 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000580
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.2849160
    i (Inclination)                 : 56.84220
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.71010
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 300.05730
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 145.32515
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -46.43469
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459690.86630

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2022-L66

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   19 36 32.5   +30 50 04    14.001   13.438   53.5    3.4   323   24.7 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   19 36 50.5   +30 52 09    14.004   13.445   53.8    3.4   322   24.7 
2026-02-12 20:31 UT   19 37 05.7   +30 53 58    14.007   13.450   54.0    3.4   321   24.7 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   19 37 08.3   +30 54 17    14.007   13.451   54.0    3.4   321   24.7 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   19 37 25.9   +30 56 27    14.010   13.458   54.3    3.4   319   24.7 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   19 37 43.3   +30 58 40    14.013   13.464   54.5    3.4   318   24.7 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   19 38 00.6   +31 00 56    14.016   13.471   54.8    3.4   317   24.8 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   19 38 17.7   +31 03 14    14.018   13.478   55.1    3.4   316   24.8 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   19 38 34.6   +31 05 34    14.021   13.484   55.4    3.5   315   24.8 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   19 38 51.3   +31 07 57    14.023   13.491   55.7    3.5   314   24.8 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   19 39 07.8   +31 10 22    14.025   13.497   56.0    3.5   313   24.8 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   19 39 24.0   +31 12 50    14.027   13.504   56.3    3.5   312   24.8 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   19 39 40.1   +31 15 20    14.029   13.510   56.6    3.5   311   24.8 

    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.