141P/Machholz |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
Today | 12 Jul 2025 | 23.5 | 3.235 AU | 2.476 AU | 15h58m | -16°17' | 131.0° | 13.7° | 105° |
Nearest approach | 22 Apr 2026 | 12.8 | 0.808 AU | 1.809 AU | 01h58m | +15°11' | 3.2° | 3.9° | 4° |
Perihelion | 22 Apr 2026 | 12.8 | 0.807 AU | 1.809 AU | 02h03m | +15°27' | 3.2° | 4.0° | 10° |
141P/Machholz- 2025-07-12
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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.)
The orbital elements of 141P/Machholz are:
e (Eccentricity) : 0.7358850
q (Perihelion distance) : 0.8073990
i (Inclination) : 13.96160
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 241.77600
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 153.64420
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 216.09745
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 6.14881
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2461153.47660
P (Orbital period in years) : 5.34
Epoch : 2025 Jul 11
Reference : MPEC 2024-R10
Classification(s): : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
Tisserand (Jupiter) : 2.709
The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC.
The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (12.00 + 5 log[∆] + 30.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 13.10 + 5 log[∆] + 16.60 log[r]).
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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.
The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.
A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.
Ephemerides:
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2025-07-12 00:00 UT 15 59 01.5 -16 18 02 2.474 3.237 131.3 13.6 105 23.5
2025-07-12 06:18 UT 15 58 51.6 -16 17 16 2.476 3.235 131.0 13.7 105 23.5
2025-07-13 00:00 UT 15 58 24.2 -16 15 07 2.479 3.230 130.2 13.9 105 23.5
2025-07-14 00:00 UT 15 57 48.2 -16 12 17 2.484 3.223 129.1 14.2 105 23.5
2025-07-15 00:00 UT 15 57 13.6 -16 09 32 2.489 3.216 128.0 14.4 105 23.5
2025-07-16 00:00 UT 15 56 40.3 -16 06 51 2.494 3.209 126.9 14.7 105 23.5
2025-07-17 00:00 UT 15 56 08.4 -16 04 16 2.500 3.202 125.8 14.9 105 23.5
2025-07-18 00:00 UT 15 55 37.9 -16 01 46 2.505 3.195 124.8 15.1 105 23.5
2025-07-19 00:00 UT 15 55 08.8 -15 59 21 2.511 3.188 123.7 15.4 105 23.5
2025-07-20 00:00 UT 15 54 41.1 -15 57 02 2.517 3.182 122.6 15.6 105 23.4
2025-07-21 00:00 UT 15 54 14.8 -15 54 47 2.523 3.175 121.5 15.8 105 23.4
2025-07-22 00:00 UT 15 53 50.0 -15 52 38 2.529 3.168 120.5 16.0 105 23.4
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.