|
C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Nearest approach | 6 Feb 2023 | 15.1 | 3.373 AU | 2.397 AU | 09h29m | +25°12' | 170.1° | 2.9° | 198° |
| Perihelion | 9 Feb 2023 | 15.1 | 3.373 AU | 2.399 AU | 09h28m | +25°42' | 168.9° | 3.2° | 176° |
| Today | 11 Jul 2026 | 25.6 | 10.434 AU | 9.683 AU | 16h32m | -05°19' | 135.6° | 3.9° | 116° |
C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-07-11
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) : 1.0033330
q (Perihelion distance) : 3.3728440
i (Inclination) : 20.57180
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 117.67510
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 21.11920
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 137.55623
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 7.27350
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459985.39680
Epoch : 2026 Jul 11
Reference : MPC194170
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-07-10 00:00 UT 16 33 23.1 -05 17 20 9.652 10.422 137.3 3.8 118 25.5
2026-07-11 00:00 UT 16 33 10.5 -05 18 21 9.668 10.429 136.4 3.9 117 25.6
2026-07-11 21:27 UT 16 32 59.4 -05 19 18 9.683 10.434 135.6 3.9 116 25.6
2026-07-12 00:00 UT 16 32 58.1 -05 19 24 9.685 10.435 135.5 3.9 116 25.6
2026-07-13 00:00 UT 16 32 46.1 -05 20 29 9.702 10.441 134.6 4.0 116 25.6
2026-07-14 00:00 UT 16 32 34.3 -05 21 36 9.719 10.447 133.7 4.0 115 25.6
2026-07-15 00:00 UT 16 32 22.9 -05 22 44 9.736 10.453 132.8 4.1 115 25.6
2026-07-16 00:00 UT 16 32 11.7 -05 23 54 9.754 10.460 131.9 4.2 114 25.6
2026-07-17 00:00 UT 16 32 00.9 -05 25 05 9.771 10.466 130.9 4.2 114 25.6
2026-07-18 00:00 UT 16 31 50.4 -05 26 18 9.789 10.472 130.0 4.3 113 25.6
2026-07-19 00:00 UT 16 31 40.2 -05 27 33 9.807 10.478 129.1 4.3 113 25.6
2026-07-20 00:00 UT 16 31 30.4 -05 28 49 9.826 10.484 128.2 4.4 112 25.6
2026-07-21 00:00 UT 16 31 20.9 -05 30 06 9.844 10.491 127.3 4.4 112 25.6
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.
