C/2023 R2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	12 Aug 2024	9.0	0.905 AU	1.847 AU	10h13m	+05°06'	14.8°	16.6°	132°
Nearest approach	16 Aug 2024	9.0	0.908 AU	1.845 AU	10h33m	+04°45'	15.2°	17.0°	127°
Today	19 Feb 2026	20.7	6.658 AU	7.478 AU	20h23m	+05°52'	31.7°	4.5°	303°

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)                : 1.0003440
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.9048500
    i (Inclination)                 : 30.69460
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.87030
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 337.33520
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 169.11792
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -11.34411
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460534.70860

    Epoch                           : 2026 Feb 18
    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
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   20 22 10.3   +05 47 43     7.472    6.644   30.9    4.4   305   20.7 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   20 22 43.9   +05 50 52     7.476    6.653   31.5    4.4   303   20.7 
2026-02-19 11:40 UT   20 23 00.2   +05 52 25     7.478    6.658   31.7    4.5   303   20.7 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   20 23 17.3   +05 54 03     7.480    6.662   32.0    4.5   302   20.7 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   20 23 50.4   +05 57 16     7.483    6.671   32.5    4.6   301   20.8 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   20 24 23.3   +06 00 32     7.486    6.680   33.1    4.6   300   20.8 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   20 24 55.8   +06 03 49     7.489    6.688   33.7    4.7   298   20.8 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   20 25 28.1   +06 07 08     7.492    6.697   34.2    4.8   297   20.8 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   20 26 00.0   +06 10 29     7.494    6.706   34.8    4.8   296   20.8 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   20 26 31.7   +06 13 52     7.496    6.715   35.4    4.9   295   20.8 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   20 27 03.0   +06 17 16     7.498    6.723   36.0    5.0   294   20.8 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   20 27 34.1   +06 20 42     7.500    6.732   36.6    5.0   293   20.8 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   20 28 04.8   +06 24 10     7.502    6.741   37.3    5.1   292   20.8 

    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.