41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	20 Oct 2026	28.9	4.116 AU	3.257 AU	04h00m	+08°42'	145.5°	7.9°	276°
Nearest approach	27 Jan 2028	11.2	1.080 AU	0.945 AU	15h53m	-13°17'	68.1°	57.7°	285°
Perihelion	15 Feb 2028	10.9	1.050 AU	0.976 AU	17h26m	-14°26'	64.6°	58.2°	278°

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 10.5 + 5 log[∆] + 25.8 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 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6600430
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0495820
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.21650
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 140.97720
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 62.20460
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 202.87356
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.14538
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461817.13620
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.42

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 20
    Reference                       : MPC191596

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.828

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   04 01 56.0   +08 49 40     3.282    4.125  143.4    8.3   275   28.9 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   04 01 22.7   +08 45 56     3.269    4.121  144.5    8.1   275   28.9 
2026-10-20 23:41 UT   04 00 48.9   +08 42 14     3.257    4.116  145.5    7.9   276   28.9 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   04 00 48.4   +08 42 11     3.257    4.116  145.5    7.9   276   28.9 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   04 00 13.2   +08 38 26     3.245    4.112  146.6    7.7   277   28.8 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   03 59 37.1   +08 34 40     3.233    4.108  147.7    7.4   277   28.8 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   03 59 00.0   +08 30 53     3.221    4.104  148.7    7.2   278   28.8 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   03 58 22.1   +08 27 06     3.210    4.100  149.8    7.0   279   28.8 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   03 57 43.2   +08 23 18     3.198    4.095  150.8    6.8   280   28.8 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   03 57 03.5   +08 19 30     3.188    4.091  151.9    6.6   281   28.7 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   03 56 22.9   +08 15 42     3.177    4.087  152.9    6.4   282   28.7 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   03 55 41.5   +08 11 55     3.167    4.083  154.0    6.1   283   28.7 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   03 54 59.3   +08 08 07     3.157    4.078  155.0    5.9   285   28.7 

    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.