|
C/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Today | 25 Feb 2026 | 15.1 | 3.596 AU | 4.238 AU | 19h34m | -03°25' | 44.3° | 11.1° | 280° |
| Perihelion | 13 Apr 2026 | 14.6 | 3.570 AU | 3.399 AU | 19h21m | -03°41' | 91.6° | 16.3° | 261° |
| Nearest approach | 12 Jun 2026 | 14.1 | 3.612 AU | 2.626 AU | 17h35m | -07°07' | 163.7° | 4.5° | 191° |
C/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-02-25
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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 6.4 + 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 R1 (PANSTARRS) are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0024150
q (Perihelion distance) : 3.5700620
i (Inclination) : 149.31560
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 62.56830
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 144.26280
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 94.31808
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 17.34083
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2461143.89690
Epoch : 2026 Feb 24
Reference : MPC191587
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-02-24 00:00 UT 19 34 42.0 -03 25 08 4.253 3.597 43.3 10.9 280 15.1
2026-02-25 00:00 UT 19 34 47.6 -03 25 34 4.239 3.596 44.2 11.1 280 15.1
2026-02-25 02:30 UT 19 34 48.2 -03 25 37 4.238 3.596 44.3 11.1 280 15.1
2026-02-26 00:00 UT 19 34 52.6 -03 25 59 4.225 3.595 45.1 11.2 279 15.1
2026-02-27 00:00 UT 19 34 56.9 -03 26 22 4.211 3.594 46.0 11.4 279 15.1
2026-02-28 00:00 UT 19 35 00.5 -03 26 43 4.197 3.593 46.9 11.6 278 15.1
2026-03-01 00:00 UT 19 35 03.5 -03 27 04 4.182 3.592 47.8 11.8 277 15.1
2026-03-02 00:00 UT 19 35 05.8 -03 27 23 4.168 3.591 48.7 12.0 277 15.1
2026-03-03 00:00 UT 19 35 07.3 -03 27 41 4.153 3.590 49.6 12.1 276 15.1
2026-03-04 00:00 UT 19 35 08.1 -03 27 58 4.138 3.589 50.5 12.3 276 15.1
2026-03-05 00:00 UT 19 35 08.2 -03 28 14 4.122 3.588 51.4 12.5 275 15.1
2026-03-06 00:00 UT 19 35 07.6 -03 28 28 4.107 3.587 52.3 12.6 275 15.0
2026-03-07 00:00 UT 19 35 06.1 -03 28 43 4.091 3.586 53.3 12.8 274 15.0
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.
