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61P/Shajn-Schaldach
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach14 Oct 202216.82.131 AU1.138 AU01h30m+01°54'173.0°3.3°334°
Perihelion23 Oct 202216.82.130 AU1.146 AU01h25m+01°00'168.1°5.5°30°
Today20 Oct 202530.05.159 AU6.126 AU12h56m-03°21'12.7°2.4°304°
61P/Shajn-Schaldach- 2025-10-20
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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 8.3 + 5 log[∆] + 25.0 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4229040
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.1300510
    i (Inclination)                 : 5.99610
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 162.95810
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 221.71680
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 204.51882
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.98604
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459875.72740
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.09

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 18
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-JU4

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.928

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   12 55 10.6   -03 15 37     6.129    5.158   11.8    2.3   304   30.0 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   12 55 58.0   -03 20 09     6.126    5.159   12.6    2.4   304   30.0 
2025-10-20 04:32 UT   12 56 07.0   -03 21 00     6.126    5.159   12.7    2.4   304   30.0 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   12 56 45.4   -03 24 40     6.123    5.160   13.3    2.6   303   30.0 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   12 57 32.7   -03 29 10     6.120    5.161   14.1    2.7   302   30.0 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   12 58 19.9   -03 33 39     6.117    5.162   14.9    2.8   302   30.0 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   12 59 07.0   -03 38 07     6.113    5.163   15.7    3.0   301   30.0 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   12 59 54.0   -03 42 33     6.110    5.163   16.4    3.1   301   30.0 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   13 00 40.9   -03 46 59     6.106    5.164   17.2    3.3   301   30.0 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   13 01 27.8   -03 51 22     6.101    5.165   18.0    3.4   300   30.0 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   13 02 14.5   -03 55 45     6.097    5.166   18.8    3.6   300   30.0 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   13 03 01.1   -04 00 06     6.092    5.167   19.6    3.7   300   30.0 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   13 03 47.5   -04 04 25     6.087    5.168   20.4    3.8   299   30.0 




    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.

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