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C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion12 Aug 20249.00.905 AU1.847 AU 10h13m+05°06'14.8°16.6°132°
Nearest approach16 Aug 20249.00.908 AU1.845 AU 10h33m+04°45'15.2°17.0°127°
Today20 Jan 202620.56.392 AU7.272 AU 20h04m+04°35'24.7°3.7°358°
C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-20
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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 8.1 + 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 R2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0003360
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.9048790
    i (Inclination)                 : 30.69370
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.87420
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 337.33200
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 169.11879
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -11.34534
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460534.70070

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 19
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-L77

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   20 03 40.3   +04 32 31     7.257    6.379   25.0    3.7     1   20.5 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   20 04 19.7   +04 34 20     7.267    6.388   24.8    3.7   359   20.5 
2026-01-20 11:28 UT   20 04 38.4   +04 35 13     7.272    6.392   24.7    3.7   358   20.5 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   20 04 58.9   +04 36 12     7.277    6.397   24.7    3.7   357   20.5 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   20 05 38.1   +04 38 08     7.287    6.406   24.6    3.7   354   20.5 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   20 06 17.1   +04 40 06     7.297    6.415   24.5    3.6   352   20.5 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   20 06 56.0   +04 42 08     7.307    6.423   24.4    3.6   350   20.5 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   20 07 34.8   +04 44 13     7.316    6.432   24.4    3.6   348   20.5 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   20 08 13.4   +04 46 20     7.325    6.441   24.3    3.6   346   20.6 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   20 08 51.8   +04 48 31     7.334    6.450   24.4    3.6   344   20.6 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   20 09 30.2   +04 50 44     7.343    6.459   24.4    3.6   342   20.6 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   20 10 08.3   +04 53 01     7.351    6.468   24.5    3.6   340   20.6 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   20 10 46.3   +04 55 20     7.359    6.477   24.6    3.6   338   20.6 




    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.

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