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C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today6 Dec 202515.314.479 AU14.575 AU 05h17m-74°53'82.5°3.9°354°
Perihelion16 Jan 203113.410.961 AU10.838 AU 12h09m-38°49'94.6°5.1°302°
Nearest approach5 Apr 203113.310.968 AU10.122 AU 11h46m-35°39'146.3°2.9°31°
C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)- 2025-12-06
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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 -2.2 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0043480
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 10.9606670
    i (Inclination)                 : 95.44590
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.97970
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 326.07450
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 193.63224
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -33.75173
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462882.65830

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 05
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-X35

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   05 18 44.4   -74 52 21    14.577   14.483   82.7    3.9   352   15.3 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   05 18 00.9   -74 53 17    14.575   14.480   82.6    3.9   353   15.3 
2025-12-06 07:13 UT   05 17 47.8   -74 53 33    14.575   14.479   82.5    3.9   354   15.3 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   05 17 17.2   -74 54 08    14.574   14.477   82.5    3.9   355   15.3 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   05 16 33.3   -74 54 55    14.572   14.474   82.4    3.9   356   15.3 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   05 15 49.3   -74 55 36    14.571   14.471   82.3    3.9   357   15.3 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   05 15 05.1   -74 56 13    14.569   14.468   82.2    3.9   358   15.3 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   05 14 20.8   -74 56 45    14.567   14.464   82.1    3.9   359   15.3 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   05 13 36.5   -74 57 12    14.566   14.461   82.0    3.9     1   15.3 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   05 12 52.1   -74 57 34    14.564   14.458   81.9    3.9     2   15.3 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   05 12 07.7   -74 57 52    14.562   14.455   81.8    3.9     3   15.3 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   05 11 23.3   -74 58 05    14.561   14.452   81.7    3.9     4   15.3 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   05 10 38.9   -74 58 13    14.559   14.449   81.7    3.9     5   15.3 




    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.

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