C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	17 Jan 2023	9.5	1.784 AU	1.611 AU	17h32m	+56°38'	83.1°	33.2°	327°
Perihelion	18 Feb 2023	9.7	1.735 AU	1.867 AU	21h38m	+54°47'	66.8°	31.6°	353°
Today	30 May 2026	22.6	10.935 AU	10.949 AU	00h12m	-41°45'	86.5°	5.3°	237°

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 5.6 + 5 log[∆] + 11.3 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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0001920
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7347240
    i (Inclination)                 : 108.20830
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 171.63660
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 88.37190
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 86.83408
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 71.72151
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459993.80670

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194178

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   00 12 27.6   -41 40 57    10.958   10.926   85.5    5.3   236   22.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   00 12 39.2   -41 44 33    10.951   10.933   86.3    5.3   236   22.6 
2026-05-30 07:34 UT   00 12 42.8   -41 45 41    10.949   10.935   86.5    5.3   237   22.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   00 12 50.5   -41 48 11    10.945   10.939   87.0    5.3   237   22.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   00 13 01.4   -41 51 53    10.938   10.946   87.8    5.3   237   22.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   00 13 12.0   -41 55 38    10.932   10.953   88.5    5.3   238   22.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   00 13 22.1   -41 59 26    10.925   10.960   89.3    5.3   239   22.6 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   00 13 31.9   -42 03 17    10.919   10.966   90.0    5.3   239   22.6 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   00 13 41.3   -42 07 11    10.912   10.973   90.8    5.3   240   22.6 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   00 13 50.3   -42 11 08    10.906   10.980   91.5    5.3   240   22.6 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   00 13 59.0   -42 15 08    10.899   10.987   92.3    5.3   241   22.6 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   00 14 07.2   -42 19 11    10.893   10.993   93.0    5.3   242   22.6 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   00 14 15.0   -42 23 17    10.886   11.000   93.8    5.3   242   22.6 

    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.