C/2019 O3 (Palomar)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	23 Jul 2020	16.5	8.918 AU	8.274 AU	19h24m	+32°06'	126.7°	5.2°	166°
Perihelion	7 Mar 2021	16.6	8.820 AU	9.210 AU	19h42m	+36°04'	64.0°	5.8°	298°
Today	6 Dec 2025	20.7	13.077 AU	12.671 AU	10h35m	+67°47'	112.3°	4.0°	275°

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 -7.3 + 5 log[∆] + 20.2 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/2019 O3 (Palomar) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0020710
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 8.8203300
    i (Inclination)                 : 89.79180
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 300.48200
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 60.08400
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 300.84383
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 60.08334
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459281.29490

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 05
    Reference                       : MPC182878

    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   10 35 36.1   +67 42 54    12.678   13.071  111.5    4.0   277   20.7 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   10 35 19.6   +67 45 55    12.673   13.075  112.0    4.0   276   20.7 
2025-12-06 12:37 UT   10 35 10.5   +67 47 30    12.671   13.077  112.3    4.0   275   20.7 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   10 35 02.1   +67 48 56    12.668   13.079  112.6    4.0   275   20.7 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   10 34 43.8   +67 51 57    12.664   13.082  113.1    4.0   274   20.7 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   10 34 24.6   +67 54 59    12.660   13.086  113.7    4.0   273   20.7 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   10 34 04.5   +67 58 01    12.655   13.090  114.2    3.9   271   20.7 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   10 33 43.4   +68 01 04    12.651   13.094  114.7    3.9   270   20.7 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   10 33 21.5   +68 04 06    12.647   13.098  115.2    3.9   269   20.7 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   10 32 58.6   +68 07 08    12.644   13.102  115.8    3.9   268   20.7 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   10 32 34.8   +68 10 10    12.640   13.106  116.3    3.9   267   20.8 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   10 32 10.1   +68 13 11    12.636   13.109  116.8    3.8   266   20.8 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   10 31 44.5   +68 16 12    12.633   13.113  117.2    3.8   265   20.8 

    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.