494P/PANSTARRS
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	30 May 2024	21.2	2.441 AU	1.856 AU	21h05m	-08°36'	113.3°	22.4°	250°
Nearest approach	31 Jul 2024	20.8	2.474 AU	1.476 AU	20h54m	-04°50'	166.4°	5.5°	191°
Today	14 Oct 2025	24.0	3.729 AU	2.829 AU	03h05m	+21°33'	150.4°	7.6°	247°

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. (16.0 + 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 494P/PANSTARRS are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3567320
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.4408000
    i (Inclination)                 : 7.78990
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 245.04340
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 48.88380
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 293.66388
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.86089
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460461.46080
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.39

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-RQ6

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.952

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   03 05 29.0   +21 33 24     2.829    3.729  150.3    7.6   247   24.0 
2025-10-14 01:13 UT   03 05 27.2   +21 33 15     2.829    3.729  150.4    7.6   247   24.0 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   03 04 52.7   +21 30 12     2.825    3.732  151.5    7.3   247   24.0 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   03 04 15.7   +21 26 55     2.822    3.735  152.6    7.1   246   24.0 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   03 03 37.9   +21 23 33     2.819    3.739  153.7    6.8   246   24.0 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   03 02 59.4   +21 20 06     2.815    3.742  154.9    6.5   245   24.0 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   03 02 20.3   +21 16 34     2.813    3.745  156.0    6.2   245   24.0 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   03 01 40.6   +21 12 58     2.810    3.748  157.2    5.9   244   24.0 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   03 01 00.3   +21 09 16     2.808    3.751  158.3    5.6   244   24.0 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   03 00 19.4   +21 05 31     2.806    3.754  159.5    5.3   243   24.0 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   02 59 38.1   +21 01 41     2.804    3.758  160.6    5.0   243   24.0 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   02 58 56.3   +20 57 47     2.803    3.761  161.8    4.8   242   24.0 

    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.