66P/duToit
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	20 Jan 2026	40.8	10.829 AU	9.962 AU	06h38m	+43°05'	150.5°	2.6°	134°
Perihelion	24 Apr 2033	11.8	1.306 AU	1.275 AU	22h25m	-29°53'	68.7°	45.9°	240°
Nearest approach	26 Aug 2033	16.8	2.031 AU	1.219 AU	01h36m	-03°04'	131.1°	22.0°	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[∆] + 26.7 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)                : 0.7849290
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3055860
    i (Inclination)                 : 18.64650
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 21.85690
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.34190
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.52199
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -18.17723
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2463712.30590
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 14.96

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 19
    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
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   06 39 20.2   +43 05 45     9.955   10.829  151.4    2.5   136   40.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   06 38 53.7   +43 05 25     9.961   10.829  150.6    2.6   134   40.8 
2026-01-20 03:49 UT   06 38 49.5   +43 05 22     9.962   10.829  150.5    2.6   134   40.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   06 38 27.5   +43 05 03     9.967   10.829  149.9    2.6   133   40.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   06 38 01.5   +43 04 38     9.973   10.829  149.0    2.7   131   40.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   06 37 35.8   +43 04 11     9.980   10.829  148.2    2.7   130   40.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   06 37 10.4   +43 03 41     9.986   10.828  147.4    2.8   128   40.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   06 36 45.3   +43 03 09     9.993   10.828  146.5    2.9   127   40.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   06 36 20.4   +43 02 35    10.001   10.828  145.7    2.9   126   40.8 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   06 35 55.9   +43 01 58    10.009   10.828  144.8    3.0   124   40.8 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   06 35 31.7   +43 01 19    10.016   10.828  143.9    3.1   123   40.8 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   06 35 07.8   +43 00 37    10.025   10.828  143.0    3.1   122   40.8 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   06 34 44.3   +42 59 54    10.033   10.827  142.1    3.2   121   40.8 

    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.