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P/2022 S1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion18 Aug 202220.43.157 AU3.061 AU 04h21m-14°35'86.1°18.7°255°
Nearest approach19 Nov 202220.03.221 AU2.463 AU 04h41m-24°42'133.2°12.9°340°
Today1 Feb 202625.77.239 AU6.501 AU 12h05m+22°53'135.7°5.5°272°
P/2022 S1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-02-01
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. (13.0 + 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 S1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5073260
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.1572470
    i (Inclination)                 : 34.56300
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 136.08600
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 262.85710
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 217.43337
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -34.25723
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459810.12420
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 16.22

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 31
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-HD1

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.387

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   12 05 31.7   +22 47 42     6.509    7.236  134.7    5.6   273   25.7 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   12 05 19.6   +22 52 47     6.502    7.239  135.6    5.5   272   25.7 
2026-02-01 04:12 UT   12 05 17.5   +22 53 40     6.501    7.239  135.7    5.5   272   25.7 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   12 05 07.0   +22 57 52     6.495    7.242  136.5    5.4   271   25.7 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   12 04 53.9   +23 02 59     6.488    7.245  137.4    5.3   270   25.7 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   12 04 40.2   +23 08 05     6.482    7.248  138.3    5.2   269   25.7 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   12 04 26.0   +23 13 13     6.476    7.251  139.2    5.1   268   25.7 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   12 04 11.3   +23 18 20     6.470    7.254  140.1    5.0   267   25.7 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   12 03 56.2   +23 23 28     6.464    7.256  140.9    4.9   266   25.7 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   12 03 40.5   +23 28 35     6.458    7.259  141.8    4.8   265   25.7 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   12 03 24.3   +23 33 43     6.453    7.262  142.7    4.7   264   25.7 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   12 03 07.7   +23 38 50     6.448    7.265  143.5    4.6   262   25.7 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   12 02 50.6   +23 43 57     6.443    7.268  144.4    4.5   261   25.7 




    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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