174P/Echeclus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	13 Apr 2015	10.5	5.872 AU	6.601 AU	22h55m	-05°37'	40.3°	6.3°	249°
Nearest approach	9 Sep 2015	10.0	5.915 AU	4.909 AU	23h21m	-03°45'	177.0°	0.5°	240°
Today	22 Aug 2026	26.9	14.177 AU	15.126 AU	08h43m	+15°07'	19.6°	1.4°	277°

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 -22.8 + 5 log[∆] + 38.0 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 174P/Echeclus are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4540390
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 5.8724720
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.33840
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 173.37670
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.32950
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 156.75133
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.24345
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2457126.34800
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 35.28

    Epoch                           : 2026 Aug 13
    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
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   08 43 26.5   +15 09 05    15.131   14.176   18.6    1.3   276   26.9 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   08 43 44.2   +15 07 55    15.126   14.177   19.5    1.4   277   26.9 
2026-08-22 01:45 UT   08 43 45.5   +15 07 50    15.126   14.177   19.6    1.4   277   26.9 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   08 44 01.9   +15 06 44    15.122   14.178   20.4    1.4   277   26.9 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   08 44 19.4   +15 05 33    15.117   14.180   21.3    1.5   278   26.9 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   08 44 36.9   +15 04 23    15.112   14.181   22.1    1.5   278   26.9 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   08 44 54.3   +15 03 12    15.107   14.182   23.0    1.6   278   26.9 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   08 45 11.5   +15 02 02    15.101   14.183   23.9    1.7   279   26.9 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   08 45 28.7   +15 00 52    15.095   14.185   24.8    1.7   279   26.9 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   08 45 45.8   +14 59 41    15.089   14.186   25.7    1.8   279   26.9 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   08 46 02.8   +14 58 31    15.083   14.187   26.6    1.8   279   26.9 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   08 46 19.6   +14 57 21    15.077   14.189   27.5    1.9   280   26.9 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   08 46 36.4   +14 56 12    15.070   14.190   28.3    1.9   280   26.9 

    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.