C/2021 T2 (Fuls)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion8 Jun 202217.81.242 AU1.470 AU 03h43m-30°05'56.5°42.9°203°
Nearest approach7 Jul 202217.41.317 AU1.138 AU 07h11m-52°27'75.1°48.3°178°
Today24 May 202627.512.948 AU12.446 AU 13h58m+34°12'117.7°4.0°147°
C/2021 T2 (Fuls)- 2026-05-24
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 estimated manually by the author. (16.5 + 5 log[∆] + 5.0 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 T2 (Fuls) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0004830
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.2418820
    i (Inclination)                 : 117.46960
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 223.15830
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 263.46490
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 147.10528
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -61.82270
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459738.97950

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 23
    Reference                       : MPC194177

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   13 59 13.5   +34 12 27    12.427   12.941  118.5    3.9   148   27.5 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   13 58 54.6   +34 12 13    12.443   12.947  117.8    4.0   147   27.5 
2026-05-24 04:17 UT   13 58 51.3   +34 12 10    12.446   12.948  117.7    4.0   147   27.5 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   13 58 36.0   +34 11 55    12.459   12.954  117.2    4.0   146   27.5 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   13 58 17.7   +34 11 34    12.475   12.960  116.5    4.0   146   27.5 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   13 57 59.5   +34 11 09    12.492   12.966  115.9    4.0   145   27.5 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   13 57 41.7   +34 10 40    12.508   12.973  115.2    4.1   144   27.6 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   13 57 24.0   +34 10 08    12.525   12.979  114.6    4.1   143   27.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   13 57 06.7   +34 09 32    12.542   12.986  113.9    4.1   142   27.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   13 56 49.6   +34 08 53    12.559   12.992  113.2    4.1   141   27.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   13 56 32.8   +34 08 10    12.576   12.999  112.5    4.1   140   27.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   13 56 16.2   +34 07 24    12.593   13.005  111.8    4.2   140   27.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   13 55 60.0   +34 06 35    12.610   13.011  111.2    4.2   139   27.6 



    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.