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P/2022 O2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach31 Aug 202220.12.228 AU1.308 AU 20h34m-21°58'147.9°13.9°71°
Perihelion6 Jan 202319.91.761 AU1.964 AU 23h08m+01°18'63.5°30.0°64°
Today29 May 202629.78.202 AU8.054 AU 10h51m+03°44'94.8°7.1°112°
P/2022 O2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-05-29
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/2022 O2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7205900
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7612560
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.41510
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 330.48610
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 48.67640
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 18.77684
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.05672
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459950.64120
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 15.83

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194180

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.331

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   10 51 49.6   +03 45 05     8.019    8.196   96.5    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   10 51 53.1   +03 44 54     8.039    8.199   95.6    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-05-29 18:26 UT   10 51 56.1   +03 44 43     8.054    8.202   94.8    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   10 51 57.0   +03 44 40     8.059    8.203   94.6    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   10 52 01.4   +03 44 23     8.078    8.206   93.7    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   10 52 06.2   +03 44 03     8.098    8.210   92.7    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   10 52 11.4   +03 43 41     8.118    8.213   91.8    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   10 52 17.0   +03 43 16     8.138    8.217   90.9    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   10 52 23.1   +03 42 49     8.158    8.220   90.0    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   10 52 29.5   +03 42 19     8.178    8.224   89.0    7.1   112   29.7 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   10 52 36.4   +03 41 46     8.198    8.227   88.1    7.1   113   29.7 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   10 52 43.7   +03 41 11     8.218    8.230   87.2    7.1   113   29.7 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   10 52 51.4   +03 40 33     8.237    8.234   86.3    7.1   113   29.7 




    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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