174P/Echeclus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	13 Apr 2015	10.5	5.873 AU	6.607 AU	22h55m	-05°38'	39.9°	6.3°	249°
Nearest approach	9 Sep 2015	10.0	5.916 AU	4.910 AU	23h21m	-03°44'	176.9°	0.5°	240°
Today	19 Sep 2026	26.9	14.213 AU	14.909 AU	08h51m	+14°35'	44.7°	2.9°	283°

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[∆] + 38.1 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)                : 0.4539960
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 5.8727580
    i (Inclination)                 : 4.33830
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 173.37880
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.32050
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 156.74445
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.24408
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2457125.88640
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 35.28

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 18
    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
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   08 51 00.9   +14 37 07    14.921   14.212   43.7    2.8   283   26.9 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   08 51 15.1   +14 36 04    14.911   14.213   44.6    2.8   283   26.9 
2026-09-19 02:48 UT   08 51 16.7   +14 35 56    14.909   14.213   44.7    2.9   283   26.9 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   08 51 29.1   +14 35 00    14.900   14.214   45.5    2.9   283   26.9 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   08 51 42.9   +14 33 57    14.889   14.215   46.4    2.9   283   26.9 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   08 51 56.5   +14 32 55    14.877   14.217   47.4    3.0   283   26.9 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   08 52 10.0   +14 31 53    14.866   14.218   48.3    3.0   283   26.9 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   08 52 23.3   +14 30 52    14.855   14.219   49.2    3.1   283   26.9 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   08 52 36.3   +14 29 51    14.843   14.221   50.1    3.1   283   26.9 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   08 52 49.2   +14 28 51    14.831   14.222   51.0    3.1   283   26.9 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   08 53 01.9   +14 27 52    14.819   14.223   52.0    3.2   284   26.9 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   08 53 14.4   +14 26 53    14.806   14.224   52.9    3.2   284   26.9 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   08 53 26.7   +14 25 54    14.794   14.226   53.8    3.3   284   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.