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P/2021 R3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today17 Jan 202625.84.763 AU4.011 AU 10h30m-03°00'135.5°8.3°304°
Nearest approach15 Jul 202821.02.547 AU1.540 AU 19h21m-30°46'169.8°4.0°25°
Perihelion16 Sep 202821.52.517 AU1.978 AU 19h03m-21°31'110.7°21.9°84°
P/2021 R3 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-17
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. (16.0 + 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 P/2021 R3 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3321180
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.5165850
    i (Inclination)                 : 19.94510
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 304.19820
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 2.57160
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.61574
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.87696
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462031.19340
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.31

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 16
    Reference                       : MPEC 2021-W31

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.890

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   10 31 08.7   -02 57 48     4.031    4.765  133.8    8.6   303   25.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   10 30 44.4   -02 59 18     4.019    4.764  134.8    8.4   304   25.8 
2026-01-17 15:53 UT   10 30 27.8   -03 00 14     4.011    4.763  135.5    8.3   304   25.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   10 30 19.3   -03 00 42     4.007    4.762  135.9    8.3   304   25.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   10 29 53.4   -03 02 00     3.995    4.761  136.9    8.1   305   25.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   10 29 26.8   -03 03 13     3.983    4.760  138.0    8.0   305   25.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   10 28 59.5   -03 04 20     3.971    4.758  139.0    7.8   306   25.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   10 28 31.5   -03 05 21     3.960    4.757  140.1    7.6   306   25.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   10 28 02.7   -03 06 16     3.949    4.755  141.1    7.5   307   25.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   10 27 33.3   -03 07 06     3.938    4.754  142.2    7.3   308   25.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   10 27 03.2   -03 07 49     3.927    4.752  143.2    7.1   308   25.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   10 26 32.4   -03 08 28     3.917    4.751  144.3    6.9   309   25.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   10 26 01.0   -03 09 00     3.907    4.750  145.3    6.8   310   25.7 




    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.

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