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P/2020 K9 (Lemmon-PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today21 May 202622.95.367 AU4.630 AU 13h22m+09°29'132.5°8.0°129°
Nearest approach22 Sep 202918.22.864 AU1.869 AU 00h18m-08°00'170.6°3.3°324°
Perihelion29 Sep 202918.22.863 AU1.876 AU 00h15m-09°26'167.9°4.2°9°
P/2020 K9 (Lemmon-PANSTARRS)- 2026-05-21
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 12.2 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 P/2020 K9 (Lemmon-PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3197270
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.8632270
    i (Inclination)                 : 23.18270
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 166.23900
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 197.11810
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 182.04674
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -6.65393
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462409.10000
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 8.63

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 21
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.803

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   13 23 06.5   +09 27 03     4.613    5.369  134.3    7.8   130   22.9 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   13 22 46.3   +09 28 14     4.623    5.368  133.3    7.9   129   22.9 
2026-05-21 19:46 UT   13 22 30.1   +09 29 08     4.630    5.367  132.5    8.0   129   22.9 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   13 22 26.7   +09 29 19     4.632    5.367  132.4    8.0   129   22.9 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   13 22 07.7   +09 30 17     4.642    5.366  131.4    8.1   128   22.9 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   13 21 49.2   +09 31 10     4.652    5.364  130.5    8.3   128   22.9 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   13 21 31.4   +09 31 56     4.662    5.363  129.5    8.4   127   22.9 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   13 21 14.1   +09 32 35     4.672    5.362  128.5    8.5   127   22.9 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   13 20 57.5   +09 33 09     4.683    5.361  127.6    8.6   126   22.9 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   13 20 41.5   +09 33 37     4.693    5.360  126.6    8.7   126   22.9 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   13 20 26.1   +09 33 58     4.704    5.359  125.7    8.8   125   22.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   13 20 11.4   +09 34 14     4.715    5.358  124.7    8.9   125   22.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   13 19 57.2   +09 34 24     4.726    5.357  123.8    9.0   125   22.9 




    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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