C/2021 T2 (Fuls)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion8 Jun 202217.81.243 AU1.471 AU 03h42m-30°08'56.5°42.9°203°
Nearest approach6 Jul 202217.41.318 AU1.138 AU 07h11m-52°31'75.2°48.2°178°
Today8 Feb 202627.312.267 AU11.899 AU 14h29m+29°26'109.7°4.3°276°
C/2021 T2 (Fuls)- 2026-02-08
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)                : 1.0005230
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.2431040
    i (Inclination)                 : 117.49650
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 223.19020
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 263.50190
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 147.04859
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -61.80447
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459738.92280

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-A50

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   14 29 48.6   +29 19 35    11.907   12.256  108.5    4.4   278   27.3 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   14 29 44.5   +29 23 52    11.902   12.263  109.3    4.4   277   27.3 
2026-02-08 14:47 UT   14 29 41.7   +29 26 30    11.899   12.267  109.7    4.3   276   27.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   14 29 39.9   +29 28 09    11.897   12.270  110.0    4.3   276   27.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   14 29 35.0   +29 32 28    11.892   12.276  110.7    4.3   275   27.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   14 29 29.8   +29 36 47    11.887   12.283  111.5    4.3   275   27.3 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   14 29 24.1   +29 41 06    11.882   12.289  112.2    4.3   274   27.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   14 29 18.0   +29 45 27    11.877   12.296  112.9    4.2   273   27.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   14 29 11.6   +29 49 47    11.873   12.303  113.7    4.2   272   27.3 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   14 29 04.7   +29 54 08    11.868   12.309  114.4    4.2   271   27.3 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   14 28 57.5   +29 58 30    11.864   12.316  115.1    4.2   270   27.3 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   14 28 49.9   +30 02 51    11.860   12.322  115.8    4.1   269   27.3 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   14 28 41.9   +30 07 13    11.856   12.329  116.5    4.1   269   27.3 



    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.