66P/duToit
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	26 Nov 2025	41.0	10.835 AU	10.080 AU	07h02m	+42°23'	138.1°	3.5°	253°
Perihelion	25 Apr 2033	11.8	1.306 AU	1.268 AU	22h26m	-29°56'	69.0°	46.0°	240°
Nearest approach	26 Aug 2033	16.8	2.025 AU	1.214 AU	01h36m	-03°14'	130.9°	22.1°	259°

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 8.2 + 5 log[∆] + 26.9 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 66P/duToit are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7849250
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3056070
    i (Inclination)                 : 18.64620
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 21.85230
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.35210
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.52812
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -18.17769
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2463712.75140
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 14.96

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 26
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-W75

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.125

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   07 03 19.0   +42 20 31    10.098   10.835  136.4    3.6   255   41.0 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   07 02 59.3   +42 22 13    10.088   10.835  137.3    3.5   254   41.0 
2025-11-26 18:59 UT   07 02 43.4   +42 23 34    10.080   10.835  138.1    3.5   253   41.0 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   07 02 39.2   +42 23 55    10.078   10.835  138.3    3.5   253   41.0 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   07 02 18.6   +42 25 36    10.069   10.835  139.2    3.4   252   41.0 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   07 01 57.7   +42 27 15    10.059   10.835  140.1    3.3   251   41.0 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   07 01 36.3   +42 28 52    10.050   10.835  141.0    3.3   250   41.0 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   07 01 14.6   +42 30 29    10.041   10.834  141.9    3.2   249   41.0 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   07 00 52.4   +42 32 04    10.032   10.834  142.8    3.2   248   41.0 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   07 00 29.9   +42 33 37    10.024   10.834  143.7    3.1   247   40.9 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   07 00 07.1   +42 35 09    10.016   10.834  144.6    3.0   246   40.9 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   06 59 43.9   +42 36 39    10.008   10.834  145.5    3.0   245   40.9 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   06 59 20.3   +42 38 08    10.000   10.834  146.3    2.9   243   40.9 

    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.