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	16 Jan 2026	-	13.269 AU	13.859 AU	19h28m	+30°12'	51.5°	3.3°	353°

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
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   19 27 39.5   +30 11 57    13.848   13.260   51.6    3.3   355   24.7 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   19 28 00.4   +30 12 41    13.856   13.267   51.5    3.3   353   24.7 
2026-01-16 08:27 UT   19 28 07.7   +30 12 58    13.859   13.269   51.5    3.3   353   24.7 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   19 28 21.2   +30 13 29    13.864   13.273   51.4    3.3   352   24.7 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   19 28 42.0   +30 14 20    13.871   13.280   51.4    3.3   351   24.7 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   19 29 02.7   +30 15 14    13.879   13.287   51.3    3.3   350   24.7 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   19 29 23.4   +30 16 11    13.886   13.293   51.3    3.3   349   24.7 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   19 29 44.0   +30 17 12    13.893   13.300   51.3    3.3   348   24.7 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   19 30 04.5   +30 18 15    13.899   13.306   51.3    3.3   346   24.7 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   19 30 24.9   +30 19 22    13.906   13.313   51.3    3.3   345   24.7 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   19 30 45.3   +30 20 32    13.913   13.320   51.3    3.3   344   24.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   19 31 05.5   +30 21 46    13.919   13.326   51.3    3.3   343   24.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   19 31 25.7   +30 23 02    13.925   13.333   51.4    3.3   342   24.7 

    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.