88P/Howell
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	23 Dec 2025	14.1	1.635 AU	2.489 AU	16h26m	-21°35'	23.5°	13.9°	279°
Perihelion	18 Mar 2026	12.4	1.358 AU	1.990 AU	21h31m	-17°18'	38.4°	27.1°	248°
Nearest approach	10 Oct 2026	15.5	2.411 AU	1.498 AU	03h01m	+14°24'	149.3°	12.2°	258°

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 8.9 + 5 log[∆] + 15.0 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 88P/Howell are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5632720
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3577850
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.38190
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 56.66950
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 235.86960
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 112.46116
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.62606
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461118.27580
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.48

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 22
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-W75

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.947

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   16 20 47.2   -21 19 06     2.506    1.646   23.0   13.5   280   14.2 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   16 23 53.5   -21 27 57     2.497    1.640   23.3   13.7   280   14.1 
2025-12-23 20:20 UT   16 26 32.2   -21 35 18     2.489    1.635   23.5   13.9   279   14.1 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   16 27 00.9   -21 36 37     2.488    1.635   23.6   13.9   279   14.1 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   16 30 09.4   -21 45 07     2.479    1.629   23.9   14.1   279   14.1 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   16 33 19.0   -21 53 25     2.470    1.623   24.1   14.3   279   14.0 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   16 36 29.8   -22 01 32     2.462    1.618   24.4   14.5   278   14.0 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   16 39 41.7   -22 09 27     2.453    1.612   24.7   14.7   278   14.0 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   16 42 54.8   -22 17 10     2.444    1.607   24.9   15.0   277   13.9 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   16 46 08.9   -22 24 41     2.436    1.601   25.2   15.2   277   13.9 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   16 49 24.2   -22 32 00     2.427    1.596   25.5   15.4   277   13.9 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   16 52 40.6   -22 39 06     2.418    1.591   25.7   15.6   276   13.9 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   16 55 58.1   -22 45 59     2.410    1.585   26.0   15.8   276   13.8 

    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.