96P/Machholz
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	5 Feb 2026	24.4	5.870 AU	6.695 AU	19h24m	-34°20'	30.8°	4.9°	240°
Perihelion	11 May 2028	2.4	0.116 AU	1.086 AU	03h33m	+20°30'	4.8°	46.7°	61°
Nearest approach	16 Jun 2028	9.8	1.034 AU	0.320 AU	16h04m	+70°59'	84.2°	77.9°	158°

This comet is a sunskirter. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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 12.1 + 5 log[∆] + 10.6 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 96P/Machholz are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9617300
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.1159970
    i (Inclination)                 : 57.58000
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 93.96050
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 14.74100
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 101.98961
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 12.40331
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461903.49240
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.28

    Epoch                           : 2026 Feb 04
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-W75

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); Halley type (P < 200 years); Sunskirter

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   19 23 42.2   -34 19 47     6.708    5.872   29.6    4.8   239   24.4 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   19 24 23.5   -34 19 59     6.699    5.870   30.4    4.9   240   24.4 
2026-02-05 10:20 UT   19 24 41.2   -34 20 04     6.695    5.870   30.8    4.9   240   24.4 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   19 25 04.5   -34 20 12     6.690    5.869   31.2    5.0   241   24.4 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   19 25 45.4   -34 20 27     6.681    5.868   32.1    5.1   241   24.4 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   19 26 26.1   -34 20 43     6.671    5.867   32.9    5.2   242   24.4 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   19 27 06.5   -34 21 00     6.661    5.866   33.7    5.4   242   24.4 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   19 27 46.6   -34 21 20     6.651    5.865   34.5    5.5   243   24.4 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   19 28 26.5   -34 21 41     6.641    5.864   35.3    5.6   243   24.4 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   19 29 06.2   -34 22 04     6.631    5.863   36.1    5.7   244   24.4 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   19 29 45.6   -34 22 28     6.620    5.861   37.0    5.8   244   24.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   19 30 24.7   -34 22 55     6.609    5.860   37.8    5.9   244   24.3 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   19 31 03.5   -34 23 23     6.598    5.859   38.6    6.0   245   24.3 

    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.