C/2023 F2 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	21 Mar 2023	4.3	0.034 AU	0.994 AU	00h01m	+01°53'	2.0°	91.7°	14°
Nearest approach	25 Mar 2023	12.7	0.244 AU	0.951 AU	23h28m	-06°49'	14.1°	93.8°	234°
Today	16 Oct 2025	37.8	17.932 AU	18.232 AU	17h29m	-67°17'	70.9°	3.0°	114°

This comet is a sunskirter. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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 19.0 + 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 C/2023 F2 (SOHO) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0112990
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0342130
    i (Inclination)                 : 72.45180
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 71.50910
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 57.68070
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.99078
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 53.68321
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460024.66620

    Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 24
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-N01

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   17 28 59.4   -67 18 00    18.224   17.928   71.2    3.0   114   37.8 
2025-10-16 09:57 UT   17 29 07.0   -67 17 15    18.232   17.932   70.9    3.0   114   37.8 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   17 29 17.7   -67 16 12    18.244   17.937   70.5    3.0   114   37.8 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   17 29 36.5   -67 14 25    18.264   17.946   69.8    3.0   115   37.8 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   17 29 55.6   -67 12 40    18.283   17.954   69.2    3.0   116   37.9 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   17 30 15.1   -67 10 56    18.303   17.963   68.5    3.0   116   37.9 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   17 30 35.0   -67 09 13    18.322   17.972   67.9    2.9   117   37.9 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   17 30 55.3   -67 07 32    18.341   17.980   67.2    2.9   118   37.9 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   17 31 15.9   -67 05 52    18.360   17.989   66.6    2.9   118   37.9 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   17 31 36.9   -67 04 14    18.378   17.997   66.0    2.9   119   37.9 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   17 31 58.3   -67 02 37    18.397   18.005   65.3    2.9   120   37.9 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   17 32 20.1   -67 01 02    18.415   18.013   64.7    2.9   121   37.9 

    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.