323P/SOHO
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	16 Feb 2025	15.9	0.881 AU	0.218 AU	18h13m	-29°08'	55.0°	113.3°	265°
Perihelion	14 Mar 2025	6.8	0.040 AU	1.026 AU	23h31m	-03°05'	1.3°	36.0°	246°
Today	9 May 2026	29.2	4.035 AU	4.254 AU	08h04m	+21°21'	70.7°	13.7°	102°

This comet is a sunskirter. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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. (20.0 + 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 323P/SOHO are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9838690
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0397450
    i (Inclination)                 : 5.27890
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 323.88290
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 353.37230
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 317.28306
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.60843
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460748.81920
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.87

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    Reference                       : MPC191623

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family; Sunskirter
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.357

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   08 04 28.0   +21 22 40     4.233    4.032   71.7   13.7   102   29.2 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   08 04 50.2   +21 21 19     4.252    4.035   70.8   13.7   102   29.2 
2026-05-09 03:15 UT   08 04 53.2   +21 21 07     4.254    4.035   70.7   13.7   102   29.2 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   08 05 13.0   +21 19 55     4.271    4.038   70.0   13.6   102   29.2 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   08 05 36.6   +21 18 29     4.289    4.040   69.1   13.5   102   29.2 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   08 06 00.9   +21 17 01     4.308    4.043   68.2   13.4   102   29.2 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   08 06 25.8   +21 15 31     4.326    4.046   67.3   13.3   102   29.3 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   08 06 51.4   +21 13 59     4.345    4.049   66.5   13.2   102   29.3 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   08 07 17.7   +21 12 25     4.363    4.052   65.6   13.1   102   29.3 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   08 07 44.6   +21 10 49     4.381    4.054   64.8   13.0   102   29.3 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   08 08 12.1   +21 09 11     4.399    4.057   63.9   12.9   102   29.3 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   08 08 40.2   +21 07 31     4.417    4.060   63.1   12.8   102   29.3 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   08 09 09.0   +21 05 49     4.434    4.063   62.2   12.7   102   29.3 

    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.