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P/2020 S5 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today4 Nov 202525.55.128 AU6.098 AU 14h06m-23°41'10.9°2.1°221°
Nearest approach27 Sep 202820.02.692 AU1.711 AU 23h55m+15°42'165.1°5.5°160°
Perihelion11 Oct 202820.02.691 AU1.737 AU 23h45m+15°13'158.4°7.9°110°
P/2020 S5 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-04
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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (14.5 + 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 S5 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3371510
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.6905360
    i (Inclination)                 : 12.33980
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 316.01350
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 53.27100
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 8.64052
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 9.86237
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462056.01360
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 8.18

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 03
    Reference                       : MPEC 2021-BE3

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.906

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   14 05 35.7   -23 36 05     6.101    5.129   10.7    2.1   217   25.5 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   14 06 30.0   -23 40 53     6.098    5.128   10.9    2.1   221   25.5 
2025-11-04 00:47 UT   14 06 31.8   -23 41 02     6.098    5.128   10.9    2.1   221   25.5 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   14 07 24.4   -23 45 41     6.095    5.126   11.2    2.2   225   25.5 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   14 08 18.8   -23 50 30     6.092    5.125   11.6    2.2   228   25.5 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   14 09 13.2   -23 55 20     6.089    5.123   12.0    2.3   231   25.5 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   14 10 07.6   -24 00 10     6.085    5.122   12.4    2.4   234   25.5 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   14 11 02.0   -24 04 60     6.082    5.120   12.8    2.5   237   25.5 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   14 11 56.4   -24 09 51     6.078    5.119   13.3    2.6   240   25.5 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   14 12 50.8   -24 14 42     6.074    5.117   13.8    2.7   242   25.5 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   14 13 45.2   -24 19 33     6.069    5.116   14.4    2.8   245   25.5 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   14 14 39.6   -24 24 25     6.065    5.115   14.9    2.9   247   25.5 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   14 15 33.9   -24 29 17     6.060    5.113   15.5    3.0   249   25.5 




    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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