392P/LINEAR
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	18 Nov 2019	19.1	2.372 AU	1.441 AU	01h48m	+13°32'	154.5°	10.3°	74°
Perihelion	3 Apr 2020	19.2	1.942 AU	2.293 AU	04h35m	+26°01'	57.2°	25.6°	79°
Today	21 Mar 2026	29.5	9.998 AU	9.978 AU	18h09m	-27°45'	88.3°	5.7°	269°

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 14.6 + 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 392P/LINEAR are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6838710
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.9422540
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.92470
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 24.77550
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 72.01840
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.73158
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.68361
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458943.04180
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 15.23

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    Reference                       : MPC191630

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.427

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 09 34.8   -27 45 19    10.001    9.997   86.9    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 09 41.1   -27 45 47     9.985    9.998   87.9    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-21 11:20 UT   18 09 43.9   -27 45 60     9.978    9.998   88.3    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 09 47.0   -27 46 15     9.969    9.999   88.8    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 09 52.4   -27 46 43     9.954   10.000   89.8    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 09 57.4   -27 47 11     9.938   10.001   90.8    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 10 01.9   -27 47 39     9.922   10.003   91.8    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 10 06.0   -27 48 08     9.906   10.004   92.7    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 10 09.6   -27 48 37     9.891   10.005   93.7    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 10 12.8   -27 49 06     9.875   10.006   94.7    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 10 15.5   -27 49 35     9.859   10.007   95.7    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 10 17.8   -27 50 04     9.844   10.008   96.6    5.7   269   29.5 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 10 19.6   -27 50 33     9.828   10.009   97.6    5.7   270   29.5 

    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.