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C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion4 Nov 202016.84.619 AU5.311 AU 17h20m-01°46'41.7°8.2°68°
Nearest approach24 May 202116.54.889 AU3.885 AU 16h39m-17°06'171.3°1.8°243°
Today10 Dec 202525.413.530 AU13.671 AU 10h33m-45°03'79.7°4.1°292°
C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-12-10
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 4.0 + 5 log[∆] + 13.9 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 C/2017 Y2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0008460
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.6186070
    i (Inclination)                 : 128.44610
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 66.02130
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 147.76800
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 87.42845
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 24.69043
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459158.28710

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-DC6

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   10 33 45.2   -44 59 27    13.678   13.524   78.9    4.1   291   25.4 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   10 33 34.9   -45 02 30    13.672   13.529   79.6    4.1   292   25.4 
2025-12-10 04:12 UT   10 33 33.1   -45 03 02    13.671   13.530   79.7    4.1   292   25.4 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   10 33 24.2   -45 05 32    13.666   13.535   80.3    4.1   293   25.4 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   10 33 13.1   -45 08 32    13.660   13.540   80.9    4.1   294   25.4 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   10 33 01.6   -45 11 31    13.654   13.545   81.6    4.1   294   25.4 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   10 32 49.6   -45 14 28    13.647   13.551   82.3    4.1   295   25.4 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   10 32 37.2   -45 17 22    13.641   13.556   82.9    4.1   296   25.4 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   10 32 24.4   -45 20 15    13.635   13.561   83.6    4.1   297   25.4 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   10 32 11.2   -45 23 06    13.629   13.567   84.3    4.1   298   25.4 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   10 31 57.5   -45 25 55    13.623   13.572   85.0    4.1   299   25.4 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   10 31 43.4   -45 28 42    13.617   13.577   85.6    4.1   299   25.4 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   10 31 28.9   -45 31 26    13.610   13.583   86.3    4.1   300   25.4 




    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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