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	5 Aug 2026	35.8	12.933 AU	13.487 AU	06h23m	+65°26'	55.2°	3.7°	312°

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)                : 1.0118240
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0336150
    i (Inclination)                 : 72.63810
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 71.55230
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.59990
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.73573
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -53.69326
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460024.73630

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 29
    Reference                       : MPC194184

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   06 22 54.4   +65 24 38    13.544   12.975   54.2    3.6   314   35.8 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   06 23 29.3   +65 25 52    13.513   12.952   54.7    3.7   313   35.8 
2026-08-05 19:45 UT   06 23 57.9   +65 26 54    13.487   12.933   55.2    3.7   312   35.8 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   06 24 04.1   +65 27 08    13.481   12.928   55.3    3.7   312   35.8 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   06 24 38.6   +65 28 26    13.450   12.905   55.8    3.7   311   35.8 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   06 25 13.0   +65 29 46    13.418   12.881   56.3    3.8   310   35.7 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   06 25 47.1   +65 31 08    13.385   12.857   56.9    3.8   310   35.7 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   06 26 20.9   +65 32 33    13.353   12.834   57.4    3.8   309   35.7 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   06 26 54.6   +65 34 00    13.321   12.810   58.0    3.8   308   35.7 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   06 27 28.0   +65 35 30    13.288   12.786   58.5    3.9   307   35.7 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   06 28 01.1   +65 37 02    13.256   12.763   59.1    3.9   307   35.7 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   06 28 33.9   +65 38 36    13.223   12.739   59.6    3.9   306   35.7 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   06 29 06.5   +65 40 12    13.190   12.715   60.2    4.0   305   35.6 

    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.