C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today8 Nov 202515.314.569 AU14.607 AU 05h35m-73°59'85.8°3.9°321°
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)- 2025-11-08
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)                : 1.0043560
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 10.9607310
    i (Inclination)                 : 95.44570
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.97670
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 326.07360
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 193.62923
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -33.75263
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462882.64570

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 07
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-V36

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   05 35 49.6   -73 56 19    14.608   14.572   86.0    3.9   320   15.3 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   05 35 22.1   -73 59 13    14.607   14.569   85.8    3.9   321   15.3 
2025-11-08 01:48 UT   05 35 20.0   -73 59 26    14.607   14.569   85.8    3.9   321   15.3 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   05 34 53.7   -74 02 04    14.607   14.566   85.7    3.9   322   15.3 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   05 34 24.5   -74 04 51    14.606   14.563   85.6    3.9   323   15.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   05 33 54.6   -74 07 34    14.605   14.559   85.5    3.9   324   15.3 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   05 33 23.9   -74 10 14    14.604   14.556   85.3    3.9   326   15.3 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   05 32 52.4   -74 12 50    14.603   14.553   85.2    3.9   327   15.3 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   05 32 20.2   -74 15 22    14.602   14.550   85.1    3.9   328   15.3 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   05 31 47.2   -74 17 51    14.601   14.547   84.9    3.9   329   15.3 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   05 31 13.5   -74 20 15    14.600   14.544   84.8    3.9   330   15.3 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   05 30 39.1   -74 22 35    14.599   14.540   84.7    3.9   331   15.3 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   05 30 04.0   -74 24 52    14.598   14.537   84.6    3.9   332   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.