C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) - DISINTEGRATED |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
Disintegration | 21 Apr 2022 | 9.4 | 0.285 AU | 0.974 AU | 02h51m | +03°15' | 16.5° | 87.9° | 121° |
Perihelion | 21 Apr 2022 | - | 0.285 AU | 0.963 AU | 02h52m | +03°32' | 16.5° | 90.1° | 121° |
Nearest approach | 8 May 2022 | 11.9 | 0.591 AU | 0.604 AU | 03h59m | +46°50' | 32.0° | 115.2° | 27° |
Today | 21 May 2025 | - | 11.633 AU | 11.381 AU | 19h39m | +36°36' | 101.9° | 4.9° | 233° |
C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-05-21
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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.)
The orbital elements of C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0000510
q (Perihelion distance) : 0.2851600
i (Inclination) : 56.82510
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.80240
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 300.01300
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 145.35335
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -46.44987
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459690.77130
Epoch : 2025 May 19
Reference : MPEC 2022-L66
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC.
The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (10.50 + 5 log[∆] + 10.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 12.59 + 5 log[∆] + 5.68 log[r]). The additional green curve shows the effect of forward scattering, occurring when the comet is between the earth and the sun, for a gas-to-dust light ratio δ90 of 0.30. (See Marcus 2007)
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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.
The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.
A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.
Ephemerides:
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2025-05-21 00:00 UT 19 39 35.5 +36 35 17 11.382 11.630 101.7 4.9 234 23.9
2025-05-21 10:04 UT 19 39 29.6 +36 36 35 11.381 11.633 101.9 4.9 233 23.9
2025-05-22 00:00 UT 19 39 21.4 +36 38 22 11.380 11.637 102.2 4.9 233 23.9
2025-05-23 00:00 UT 19 39 06.9 +36 41 24 11.378 11.644 102.7 4.9 232 23.9
2025-05-24 00:00 UT 19 38 52.1 +36 44 22 11.377 11.651 103.2 4.9 231 23.9
2025-05-25 00:00 UT 19 38 36.9 +36 47 17 11.376 11.658 103.7 4.8 230 23.9
2025-05-26 00:00 UT 19 38 21.4 +36 50 09 11.375 11.665 104.2 4.8 229 23.9
2025-05-27 00:00 UT 19 38 05.5 +36 52 58 11.373 11.672 104.7 4.8 228 23.9
2025-05-28 00:00 UT 19 37 49.3 +36 55 43 11.372 11.679 105.2 4.8 227 23.9
2025-05-29 00:00 UT 19 37 32.7 +36 58 24 11.371 11.686 105.7 4.8 226 23.9
2025-05-30 00:00 UT 19 37 15.8 +37 01 02 11.370 11.693 106.1 4.8 226 23.9
2025-05-31 00:00 UT 19 36 58.6 +37 03 36 11.370 11.700 106.6 4.8 225 23.9
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.