Skip Navigation Links

P/2023 T1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach17 Nov 202320.33.021 AU2.039 AU 02h54m+20°10'171.7°2.7°97°
Perihelion22 May 202421.42.818 AU3.727 AU 05h36m+21°22'22.5°7.9°92°
Today9 Jan 202623.34.146 AU4.265 AU 13h53m-16°57'76.4°13.3°289°
P/2023 T1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-09
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 month
-1 week
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 week
+1 month

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (14.0 + 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 P/2023 T1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3331440
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.8183830
    i (Inclination)                 : 6.61220
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 249.57800
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 202.89560
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 272.33687
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.56765
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460453.43040
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 8.69

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 08
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-BE0

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.919

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 52 47.2   -16 52 27     4.282    4.142   75.2   13.3   289   23.3 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 53 22.6   -16 56 16     4.269    4.145   76.1   13.3   289   23.3 
2026-01-09 09:07 UT   13 53 35.8   -16 57 41     4.265    4.146   76.4   13.3   289   23.3 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 53 57.3   -17 00 00     4.257    4.147   77.0   13.4   289   23.3 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 54 31.2   -17 03 41     4.245    4.150   77.8   13.4   289   23.3 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 55 04.5   -17 07 19     4.232    4.153   78.7   13.4   289   23.3 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 55 37.0   -17 10 52     4.220    4.156   79.6   13.5   290   23.3 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 56 08.8   -17 14 21     4.207    4.159   80.4   13.5   290   23.3 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 56 39.8   -17 17 47     4.195    4.162   81.3   13.5   290   23.3 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 57 10.0   -17 21 08     4.182    4.164   82.2   13.5   290   23.3 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 57 39.5   -17 24 26     4.169    4.167   83.1   13.6   290   23.3 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 58 08.2   -17 27 39     4.157    4.170   84.0   13.6   290   23.3 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   13 58 36.1   -17 30 48     4.144    4.173   84.9   13.6   290   23.3 




    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.

Privacy policy