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C/2022 R6 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion26 Aug 202516.96.566 AU7.353 AU 08h20m-10°09'36.3°5.2°237°
Today8 Jan 202616.56.628 AU5.847 AU 08h51m-10°54'139.8°5.5°326°
Nearest approach3 Feb 202616.56.654 AU5.754 AU 08h42m-08°45'154.0°3.7°13°
C/2022 R6 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-08
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. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 4.4 + 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 C/2022 R6 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0051010
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 6.5657100
    i (Inclination)                 : 57.02480
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.78080
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 319.96180
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 126.20521
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -32.66096
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460914.22780

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 08
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-A24

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   08 52 05.7   -11 00 45     5.860    6.627  138.3    5.7   323   16.5 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   08 51 46.5   -10 57 04     5.852    6.628  139.2    5.6   325   16.5 
2026-01-08 18:19 UT   08 51 31.7   -10 54 11     5.847    6.628  139.8    5.5   326   16.5 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   08 51 27.0   -10 53 16     5.845    6.628  140.0    5.5   326   16.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   08 51 07.2   -10 49 22     5.838    6.629  140.8    5.4   327   16.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   08 50 47.2   -10 45 22     5.831    6.630  141.6    5.3   328   16.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   08 50 26.8   -10 41 16     5.825    6.631  142.4    5.2   330   16.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   08 50 06.2   -10 37 03     5.819    6.632  143.1    5.1   331   16.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   08 49 45.3   -10 32 44     5.813    6.633  143.9    5.0   332   16.5 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   08 49 24.2   -10 28 18     5.807    6.634  144.6    4.9   334   16.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   08 49 02.9   -10 23 46     5.802    6.635  145.4    4.8   335   16.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   08 48 41.3   -10 19 09     5.797    6.636  146.1    4.7   337   16.5 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   08 48 19.6   -10 14 25     5.792    6.637  146.8    4.7   338   16.5 




    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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