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P/2024 Q1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion14 Jun 202419.51.640 AU1.156 AU 23h18m-11°56'97.9°37.8°248°
Nearest approach30 Aug 202419.21.802 AU0.846 AU 00h26m-03°29'152.3°15.1°258°
Today2 Nov 202525.74.009 AU3.341 AU 06h14m+28°32'126.3°11.5°268°
P/2024 Q1 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-02
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. 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. (17.0 + 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/2024 Q1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5346140
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6404730
    i (Inclination)                 : 5.00640
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 23.03050
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 284.72050
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -52.19509
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.84168
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460476.18530
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.62

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 01
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-UQ8

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.862

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   06 15 17.8   +28 30 19     3.352    4.004  124.9   11.7   268   25.7 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   06 14 57.1   +28 31 52     3.344    4.008  126.0   11.6   268   25.7 
2025-11-02 06:33 UT   06 14 51.2   +28 32 17     3.341    4.009  126.3   11.5   268   25.7 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   06 14 35.1   +28 33 23     3.335    4.012  127.1   11.4   268   25.6 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   06 14 11.9   +28 34 55     3.327    4.017  128.2   11.2   267   25.6 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   06 13 47.5   +28 36 26     3.319    4.021  129.2   11.0   267   25.6 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   06 13 21.9   +28 37 56     3.312    4.025  130.3   10.8   267   25.6 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   06 12 55.1   +28 39 25     3.304    4.029  131.4   10.6   267   25.6 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   06 12 27.1   +28 40 54     3.297    4.033  132.5   10.4   266   25.6 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   06 11 58.0   +28 42 22     3.290    4.037  133.6   10.2   266   25.6 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 11 27.6   +28 43 49     3.283    4.041  134.7   10.0   266   25.6 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 10 56.2   +28 45 15     3.276    4.045  135.8    9.8   266   25.6 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 10 23.6   +28 46 40     3.269    4.050  136.9    9.6   265   25.6 




    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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