174P/Echeclus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	19 Apr 2015	10.5	5.867 AU	6.533 AU	22h58m	-05°21'	45.0°	7.0°	249°
Nearest approach	9 Sep 2015	10.0	5.906 AU	4.900 AU	23h19m	-03°53'	177.0°	0.5°	239°
Today	15 May 2026	26.6	14.048 AU	14.387 AU	08h16m	+16°32'	68.4°	3.8°	104°

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 -22.7 + 5 log[∆] + 37.9 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 174P/Echeclus are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4547310
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 5.8665610
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.34070
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 173.34250
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.42610
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 156.81354
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.23710
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2457131.87730
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 35.29

    Epoch                           : 2025 Jul 29
    Reference                       : MPC 92985

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   08 16 38.5   +16 33 19    14.363   14.046   69.8    3.9   104   26.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   08 16 48.0   +16 33 03    14.380   14.047   68.9    3.8   104   26.6 
2026-05-15 10:58 UT   08 16 52.4   +16 32 56    14.387   14.048   68.4    3.8   104   26.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   08 16 57.7   +16 32 46    14.397   14.048   67.9    3.8   104   26.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   08 17 07.6   +16 32 29    14.414   14.050   67.0    3.8   104   26.6 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   08 17 17.7   +16 32 10    14.430   14.051   66.1    3.8   104   26.6 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   08 17 28.1   +16 31 50    14.447   14.052   65.2    3.7   104   26.6 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   08 17 38.7   +16 31 30    14.464   14.054   64.3    3.7   104   26.6 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   08 17 49.6   +16 31 08    14.480   14.055   63.3    3.7   105   26.6 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   08 18 00.6   +16 30 46    14.496   14.056   62.4    3.7   105   26.7 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   08 18 11.9   +16 30 22    14.512   14.058   61.5    3.6   105   26.7 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   08 18 23.4   +16 29 58    14.529   14.059   60.6    3.6   105   26.7 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   08 18 35.1   +16 29 33    14.544   14.060   59.7    3.6   105   26.7 

    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.