|
C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Nearest approach | 6 Feb 2023 | 15.1 | 3.372 AU | 2.396 AU | 09h29m | +25°12' | 170.1° | 2.9° | 198° |
| Perihelion | 9 Feb 2023 | 15.1 | 3.371 AU | 2.398 AU | 09h28m | +25°41' | 169.0° | 3.2° | 177° |
| Today | 14 Jan 2026 | 24.9 | 9.310 AU | 9.976 AU | 16h45m | -07°01' | 45.2° | 4.3° | 293° |
C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-01-14
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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 5.1 + 5 log[∆] + 15.3 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/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0030640
q (Perihelion distance) : 3.3713570
i (Inclination) : 20.57160
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 117.67600
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 21.08960
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 137.52900
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 7.26365
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459985.25340
Epoch : 2026 Jan 13
Reference : MPEC 2024-N80
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-01-13 00:00 UT 16 44 48.8 -07 01 01 9.983 9.300 44.0 4.2 294 24.9
2026-01-14 00:00 UT 16 45 12.8 -07 01 06 9.978 9.307 44.8 4.3 293 24.9
2026-01-14 11:32 UT 16 45 24.2 -07 01 07 9.976 9.310 45.2 4.3 293 24.9
2026-01-15 00:00 UT 16 45 36.5 -07 01 09 9.973 9.313 45.7 4.3 293 24.9
2026-01-16 00:00 UT 16 46 00.1 -07 01 10 9.968 9.319 46.5 4.4 292 24.9
2026-01-17 00:00 UT 16 46 23.3 -07 01 10 9.963 9.326 47.4 4.5 292 24.9
2026-01-18 00:00 UT 16 46 46.3 -07 01 07 9.958 9.332 48.3 4.5 291 24.9
2026-01-19 00:00 UT 16 47 09.0 -07 01 03 9.952 9.339 49.1 4.6 291 25.0
2026-01-20 00:00 UT 16 47 31.5 -07 00 57 9.947 9.345 50.0 4.6 291 25.0
2026-01-21 00:00 UT 16 47 53.6 -07 00 50 9.941 9.351 50.9 4.7 290 25.0
2026-01-22 00:00 UT 16 48 15.5 -07 00 40 9.935 9.358 51.7 4.7 290 25.0
2026-01-23 00:00 UT 16 48 37.1 -07 00 29 9.929 9.364 52.6 4.8 289 25.0
2026-01-24 00:00 UT 16 48 58.3 -07 00 16 9.922 9.371 53.5 4.8 289 25.0
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.
