C/2023 F2 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	21 Mar 2023	4.2	0.033 AU	0.995 AU	00h02m	+01°55'	1.9°	91.5°	14°
Nearest approach	25 Mar 2023	12.8	0.246 AU	0.951 AU	23h29m	-06°55'	14.2°	93.7°	234°
Today	16 Nov 2025	38.0	18.193 AU	18.775 AU	17h41m	-66°33'	52.7°	2.5°	138°

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)                : 1.0110540
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0334410
    i (Inclination)                 : 72.41330
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 71.46180
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 57.57330
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.89849
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 53.57421
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460024.86340

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 15
    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
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   17 40 37.0   -66 34 19    18.759   18.185   53.2    2.5   137   38.0 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   17 41 04.6   -66 33 18    18.773   18.191   52.7    2.5   138   38.0 
2025-11-16 04:19 UT   17 41 09.6   -66 33 07    18.775   18.193   52.7    2.5   138   38.0 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   17 41 32.4   -66 32 18    18.786   18.198   52.2    2.5   139   38.0 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   17 42 00.5   -66 31 20    18.798   18.204   51.8    2.4   140   38.0 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   17 42 28.7   -66 30 23    18.811   18.209   51.3    2.4   141   38.0 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   17 42 57.1   -66 29 28    18.823   18.215   50.8    2.4   142   38.0 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   17 43 25.8   -66 28 35    18.835   18.221   50.4    2.4   143   38.0 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   17 43 54.6   -66 27 44    18.846   18.227   49.9    2.4   144   38.0 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   17 44 23.6   -66 26 54    18.858   18.232   49.5    2.4   145   38.0 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   17 44 52.7   -66 26 06    18.869   18.238   49.1    2.3   146   38.0 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   17 45 22.1   -66 25 20    18.879   18.243   48.7    2.3   147   38.0 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   17 45 51.6   -66 24 36    18.890   18.248   48.3    2.3   148   38.0 

    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.