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C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion1 Aug 202514.53.828 AU3.895 AU 03h05m+22°51'78.7°15.1°255°
Nearest approach9 Nov 202514.03.928 AU2.952 AU 03h26m+26°18'168.5°2.9°216°
Today15 Oct 202616.45.361 AU5.241 AU 07h31m+25°25'91.5°10.7°279°
C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-10-15
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. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 6.5 + 5 log[∆] + 8.7 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 N2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0046790
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.8278920
    i (Inclination)                 : 5.50350
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 319.72620
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 75.50650
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 35.16843
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.32784
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460888.83140

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 14
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-TP0

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   07 31 09.7   +25 26 01     5.260    5.350   89.8   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   07 31 30.7   +25 25 29     5.250    5.356   90.7   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-15 21:55 UT   07 31 49.3   +25 25 01     5.241    5.361   91.5   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   07 31 51.0   +25 24 59     5.240    5.362   91.6   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   07 32 10.5   +25 24 30     5.230    5.367   92.5   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   07 32 29.3   +25 24 03     5.220    5.373   93.4   10.7   279   16.4 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   07 32 47.2   +25 23 37     5.210    5.378   94.4   10.6   279   16.4 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   07 33 04.4   +25 23 13     5.200    5.384   95.3   10.6   279   16.4 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   07 33 20.7   +25 22 51     5.190    5.390   96.2   10.6   279   16.4 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   07 33 36.3   +25 22 30     5.180    5.395   97.1   10.5   279   16.4 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   07 33 51.1   +25 22 10     5.170    5.401   98.1   10.5   279   16.4 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   07 34 05.1   +25 21 53     5.161    5.407   99.0   10.5   279   16.4 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   07 34 18.3   +25 21 36     5.151    5.412  100.0   10.4   279   16.4 




    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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