409P/LONEOS-Hill
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	29 Jan 2021	15.5	1.746 AU	1.006 AU	12h35m	+04°29'	122.6°	28.4°	288°
Nearest approach	9 Mar 2021	15.3	1.797 AU	0.870 AU	13h14m	+14°57'	149.3°	16.4°	253°
Today	16 Mar 2026	28.0	9.619 AU	10.488 AU	21h58m	-12°38'	27.7°	2.8°	249°

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 13.0 + 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 409P/LONEOS-Hill are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7105030
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7463790
    i (Inclination)                 : 17.15680
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 143.63930
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 15.04050
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.03895
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.39028
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459243.82550
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 14.82

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 15
    Reference                       : MPC191631

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.310

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   21 58 23.2   -12 40 25    10.495    9.617   26.8    2.7   249   28.0 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   21 58 46.9   -12 38 38    10.489    9.619   27.6    2.8   249   28.0 
2026-03-16 02:39 UT   21 58 49.5   -12 38 27    10.488    9.619   27.7    2.8   249   28.0 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   21 59 10.4   -12 36 53    10.483    9.621   28.5    2.8   249   28.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   21 59 33.7   -12 35 07    10.476    9.622   29.4    2.9   249   28.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   21 59 56.8   -12 33 23    10.470    9.624   30.3    3.0   249   28.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   22 00 19.8   -12 31 40    10.463    9.626   31.2    3.1   249   28.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   22 00 42.7   -12 29 57    10.456    9.627   32.1    3.2   249   28.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   22 01 05.3   -12 28 15    10.449    9.629   33.0    3.2   249   28.0 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   22 01 27.8   -12 26 34    10.441    9.631   33.9    3.3   249   28.0 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   22 01 50.0   -12 24 54    10.434    9.632   34.8    3.4   249   27.9 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   22 02 12.1   -12 23 15    10.426    9.634   35.7    3.5   249   27.9 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   22 02 34.0   -12 21 37    10.418    9.636   36.6    3.5   249   27.9 

    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.