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P/2020 S5 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today2 Dec 202525.45.086 AU5.936 AU 14h31m-25°58'27.9°5.2°268°
Nearest approach27 Sep 202820.02.692 AU1.711 AU 23h55m+15°41'165.1°5.5°160°
Perihelion11 Oct 202820.02.691 AU1.738 AU 23h45m+15°13'158.3°7.9°109°
P/2020 S5 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-12-02
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)                : 0.3371110
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.6907980
    i (Inclination)                 : 12.33980
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 316.01250
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 53.26780
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 8.63630
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 9.86195
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2462056.04170
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 8.18

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 01
    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
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   14 30 49.1   -25 52 19     5.947    5.088   27.0    5.1   267   25.4 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   14 31 42.0   -25 57 11     5.938    5.086   27.8    5.2   268   25.4 
2025-12-02 05:44 UT   14 31 54.7   -25 58 21     5.936    5.086   27.9    5.2   268   25.4 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   14 32 34.8   -26 02 04     5.929    5.085   28.5    5.3   269   25.4 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   14 33 27.5   -26 06 56     5.921    5.083   29.2    5.4   269   25.4 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   14 34 20.0   -26 11 48     5.911    5.082   30.0    5.6   270   25.4 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   14 35 12.4   -26 16 39     5.902    5.080   30.7    5.7   270   25.4 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   14 36 04.6   -26 21 31     5.893    5.079   31.5    5.8   271   25.4 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   14 36 56.6   -26 26 22     5.883    5.077   32.2    5.9   271   25.4 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   14 37 48.5   -26 31 13     5.873    5.076   33.0    6.1   271   25.4 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   14 38 40.1   -26 36 03     5.863    5.074   33.8    6.2   272   25.4 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   14 39 31.6   -26 40 53     5.853    5.073   34.5    6.3   272   25.4 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   14 40 22.9   -26 45 43     5.843    5.071   35.3    6.4   273   25.4 




    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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