C/2023 F2 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	17 Mar 2023	12.9	0.253 AU	0.942 AU	23h15m	+11°03'	14.7°	94.7°	329°
Perihelion	21 Mar 2023	5.6	0.034 AU	0.999 AU	23h58m	-01°51'	1.9°	84.7°	194°
Today	17 May 2026	36.6	14.725 AU	15.350 AU	05h35m	+65°37'	50.4°	3.0°	38°

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)                : 1.0118210
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0336050
    i (Inclination)                 : 72.62360
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 71.53570
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.60340
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.73997
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -53.69011
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460024.74540

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 16
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   05 35 13.5   +65 39 56    15.369   14.752   51.0    3.1    39   36.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   05 35 43.7   +65 38 28    15.355   14.732   50.6    3.0    38   36.6 
2026-05-17 08:14 UT   05 35 54.1   +65 37 58    15.350   14.725   50.4    3.0    38   36.6 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   05 36 14.1   +65 37 02    15.341   14.711   50.1    3.0    37   36.6 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   05 36 44.9   +65 35 37    15.327   14.691   49.7    3.0    36   36.6 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   05 37 16.0   +65 34 14    15.313   14.670   49.2    3.0    36   36.6 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   05 37 47.3   +65 32 53    15.298   14.649   48.8    3.0    35   36.6 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   05 38 18.9   +65 31 34    15.283   14.629   48.4    3.0    34   36.6 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   05 38 50.7   +65 30 17    15.268   14.608   48.0    3.0    33   36.6 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   05 39 22.8   +65 29 01    15.253   14.587   47.6    2.9    32   36.6 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   05 39 55.2   +65 27 47    15.237   14.566   47.2    2.9    31   36.5 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   05 40 27.8   +65 26 36    15.221   14.545   46.8    2.9    30   36.5 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   05 41 00.7   +65 25 25    15.205   14.524   46.5    2.9    29   36.5 

    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.