226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	5 Nov 2023	14.1	1.838 AU	1.207 AU	00h59m	-47°10'	113.0°	29.8°	27°
Perihelion	26 Dec 2023	14.3	1.776 AU	1.460 AU	00h45m	-12°26'	91.1°	33.6°	66°
Today	15 Jul 2026	22.0	5.368 AU	5.453 AU	13h23m	+19°18'	79.9°	10.7°	109°

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 11.0 + 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 226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5285060
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7755320
    i (Inclination)                 : 44.03790
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 54.02500
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 341.03680
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.14989
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -13.05530
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460305.25240
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.31

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 14
    Reference                       : MPC191613

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.420

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   13 23 00.5   +19 29 25     5.430    5.365   81.0   10.8   110   22.0 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   13 23 08.7   +19 21 35     5.446    5.367   80.2   10.8   110   22.0 
2026-07-15 09:12 UT   13 23 12.1   +19 18 35     5.453    5.368   79.9   10.7   109   22.0 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   13 23 17.6   +19 13 44     5.462    5.369   79.4   10.7   109   22.0 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   13 23 27.2   +19 05 52     5.478    5.371   78.6   10.7   109   22.0 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   13 23 37.3   +18 57 60     5.494    5.373   77.8   10.7   108   22.0 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   13 23 48.1   +18 50 07     5.510    5.375   77.1   10.6   108   22.0 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   13 23 59.5   +18 42 13     5.526    5.377   76.3   10.6   108   22.0 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   13 24 11.5   +18 34 20     5.542    5.379   75.5   10.5   107   22.0 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   13 24 24.2   +18 26 25     5.558    5.381   74.7   10.5   107   22.0 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   13 24 37.4   +18 18 31     5.574    5.383   74.0   10.5   106   22.0 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   13 24 51.2   +18 10 36     5.589    5.385   73.2   10.4   106   22.0 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   13 25 05.5   +18 02 41     5.605    5.387   72.4   10.4   106   22.1 

    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.