C/2020 X3 (SOHO)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	14 Dec 2020	-0.8	0.005 AU	0.988 AU	17h30m	-23°07'	0.2°	51.1°	55°
Nearest approach	6 Jan 2021	15.9	0.873 AU	0.551 AU	17h14m	-83°40'	62.0°	84.1°	210°
Today	5 Feb 2026	33.5	16.744 AU	16.064 AU	06h42m	-13°26'	132.2°	2.5°	53°

This comet is a sungrazer. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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 17.6 + 5 log[∆] + 8.0 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 C/2020 X3 (SOHO) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000000
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0050117
    i (Inclination)                 : 143.93683
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 357.16186
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 77.35832
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 282.66910
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 35.05805
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459198.44587

    Epoch                           : 2020 Dec 17
    Reference                       : MPEC 2020-Y19

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU); Sungrazer; Kreutz

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   06 42 30.3   -13 28 44    16.047   16.736  133.1    2.5    52   33.5 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   06 42 17.8   -13 27 15    16.060   16.742  132.4    2.5    53   33.5 
2026-02-05 07:41 UT   06 42 13.9   -13 26 46    16.064   16.744  132.2    2.5    53   33.5 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   06 42 05.5   -13 25 44    16.074   16.748  131.8    2.5    54   33.5 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   06 41 53.4   -13 24 11    16.087   16.754  131.2    2.5    55   33.5 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   06 41 41.5   -13 22 37    16.101   16.760  130.5    2.6    56   33.5 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   06 41 29.8   -13 21 02    16.116   16.766  129.8    2.6    57   33.5 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   06 41 18.3   -13 19 24    16.130   16.771  129.2    2.6    58   33.5 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   06 41 07.0   -13 17 46    16.145   16.777  128.5    2.6    59   33.5 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   06 40 55.9   -13 16 06    16.160   16.783  127.8    2.7    60   33.5 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   06 40 44.9   -13 14 25    16.175   16.789  127.1    2.7    61   33.5 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   06 40 34.2   -13 12 42    16.190   16.795  126.4    2.7    62   33.5 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   06 40 23.7   -13 10 58    16.205   16.801  125.7    2.7    63   33.5 

    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.