71P/Clark
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	19 Jan 2023	11.2	1.640 AU	2.542 AU	18h46m	-26°03'	18.7°	11.1°	256°
Nearest approach	14 Sep 2023	17.3	2.577 AU	1.641 AU	01h17m	-04°20'	152.7°	10.3°	271°
Today	16 Oct 2025	28.7	4.718 AU	4.374 AU	06h39m	+27°49'	104.2°	11.8°	273°

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 1.6 + 5 log[∆] + 35.6 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 71P/Clark are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4843300
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6403450
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.23890
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 59.07680
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 210.64890
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 89.39863
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.69464
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459963.96370
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.67

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 15
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-YC7

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.986

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   06 39 53.6   +27 49 04     4.382    4.718  103.6   11.9   273   28.7 
2025-10-16 12:50 UT   06 39 55.9   +27 49 55     4.374    4.718  104.2   11.8   273   28.7 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   06 39 57.6   +27 50 39     4.367    4.718  104.6   11.8   273   28.7 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   06 40 00.6   +27 52 14     4.351    4.718  105.6   11.7   273   28.7 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   06 40 02.6   +27 53 52     4.336    4.718  106.6   11.7   273   28.7 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   06 40 03.6   +27 55 30     4.321    4.718  107.6   11.6   272   28.7 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   06 40 03.6   +27 57 10     4.306    4.719  108.6   11.5   272   28.7 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   06 40 02.6   +27 58 50     4.292    4.719  109.6   11.5   272   28.7 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   06 40 00.5   +28 00 33     4.277    4.719  110.6   11.4   272   28.7 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   06 39 57.4   +28 02 16     4.262    4.719  111.6   11.3   272   28.7 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   06 39 53.2   +28 04 00     4.248    4.719  112.6   11.2   272   28.7 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   06 39 48.1   +28 05 46     4.233    4.720  113.6   11.1   272   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.