C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	24 Mar 2023	12.4	3.627 AU	2.630 AU	12h06m	-01°23'	178.8°	0.3°	84°
Perihelion	29 Mar 2023	12.4	3.626 AU	2.636 AU	11h56m	-01°34'	171.6°	2.3°	101°
Today	21 Jul 2026	18.7	10.102 AU	10.361 AU	04h52m	-36°26'	72.4°	5.5°	226°

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 6.2 + 5 log[∆] + 7.4 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 U5 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9999040
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6262640
    i (Inclination)                 : 113.51880
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 2.58090
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.45380
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 2.00066
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.33301
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460032.71270

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 20
    Reference                       : MPC194164

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   04 51 44.8   -36 21 52    10.363   10.093   71.8    5.5   225   18.7 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   04 51 56.9   -36 24 42    10.362   10.099   72.2    5.5   226   18.7 
2026-07-21 11:11 UT   04 52 02.5   -36 26 02    10.361   10.102   72.4    5.5   226   18.7 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   04 52 08.8   -36 27 35    10.360   10.105   72.7    5.5   227   18.7 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   04 52 20.3   -36 30 32    10.359   10.111   73.1    5.5   228   18.7 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   04 52 31.4   -36 33 32    10.357   10.117   73.6    5.5   229   18.7 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   04 52 42.3   -36 36 37    10.356   10.123   74.0    5.5   229   18.7 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   04 52 52.8   -36 39 44    10.354   10.129   74.4    5.5   230   18.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   04 53 03.0   -36 42 55    10.352   10.136   74.9    5.6   231   18.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   04 53 12.9   -36 46 10    10.350   10.142   75.4    5.6   232   18.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   04 53 22.4   -36 49 28    10.348   10.148   75.8    5.6   233   18.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   04 53 31.6   -36 52 49    10.346   10.154   76.3    5.6   234   18.7 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   04 53 40.4   -36 56 14    10.344   10.160   76.7    5.6   234   18.7 

    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.