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	3.627 AU	2.636 AU	11h56m	-01°35'	171.6°	2.3°	101°
Today	8 Sep 2026	18.7	10.402 AU	10.245 AU	04h53m	-39°45'	96.2°	5.5°	268°

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 6.1 + 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)                : 0.9999010
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6266230
    i (Inclination)                 : 113.51990
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 2.57750
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.45650
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 1.99615
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.33547
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460032.69250

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 07
    Reference                       : MPC194164

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   04 54 02.1   -39 37 03    10.249   10.392   95.4    5.5   266   18.7 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   04 53 53.3   -39 41 47    10.246   10.398   95.9    5.5   267   18.7 
2026-09-08 16:22 UT   04 53 46.9   -39 45 01    10.245   10.402   96.2    5.5   268   18.7 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   04 53 43.9   -39 46 31    10.244   10.404   96.3    5.5   268   18.7 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   04 53 34.0   -39 51 16    10.242   10.410   96.8    5.5   269   18.7 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   04 53 23.6   -39 56 00    10.240   10.416   97.3    5.5   270   18.7 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   04 53 12.6   -40 00 45    10.238   10.422   97.8    5.5   271   18.7 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   04 53 01.1   -40 05 30    10.236   10.428   98.3    5.5   272   18.7 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   04 52 49.1   -40 10 14    10.234   10.435   98.7    5.5   273   18.7 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   04 52 36.5   -40 14 59    10.232   10.441   99.2    5.5   274   18.7 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   04 52 23.3   -40 19 43    10.230   10.447   99.7    5.4   274   18.7 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   04 52 09.6   -40 24 26    10.228   10.453  100.2    5.4   275   18.7 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   04 51 55.4   -40 29 09    10.227   10.459  100.6    5.4   276   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.