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C/2018 W2 (Africano)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion5 Sep 201910.21.465 AU0.857 AU02h47m+52°32'103.2°42.1°240°
Nearest approach27 Sep 20199.11.497 AU0.504 AU23h56m+14°08'166.7°8.9°161°
Today15 Oct 202530.117.468 AU18.140 AU12h30m-53°56'46.4°2.4°198°
C/2018 W2 (Africano)- 2025-10-15
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 8.5 + 5 log[∆] + 12.3 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/2018 W2 (Africano) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0009630
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.4650070
    i (Inclination)                 : 116.51480
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 182.01800
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 158.25100
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 192.11639
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.36394
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458732.36610

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 14
    Reference                       : MPEC 2021-P47

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   12 30 39.1   -53 55 19    18.134   17.464   46.6    2.4   197   30.1 
2025-10-15 20:05 UT   12 30 55.4   -53 56 17    18.140   17.468   46.4    2.4   198   30.1 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   12 30 58.6   -53 56 28    18.142   17.469   46.4    2.4   198   30.1 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   12 31 17.9   -53 57 39    18.149   17.475   46.2    2.4   199   30.1 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   12 31 37.2   -53 58 52    18.157   17.481   46.0    2.4   200   30.1 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   12 31 56.3   -54 00 08    18.164   17.486   45.9    2.3   202   30.1 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   12 32 15.4   -54 01 25    18.172   17.492   45.7    2.3   203   30.1 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   12 32 34.3   -54 02 44    18.179   17.497   45.6    2.3   204   30.1 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   12 32 53.2   -54 04 06    18.185   17.503   45.5    2.3   206   30.1 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   12 33 11.9   -54 05 29    18.192   17.508   45.4    2.3   207   30.1 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   12 33 30.6   -54 06 54    18.198   17.514   45.3    2.3   208   30.1 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   12 33 49.1   -54 08 21    18.205   17.520   45.3    2.3   209   30.1 




    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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