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	8 Jan 2026	33.4	16.577 AU	15.779 AU	06h48m	-13°56'	143.2°	2.0°	11°

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
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   06 49 14.4   -13 57 13    15.770   16.569  143.2    2.0     8   33.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   06 48 58.7   -13 56 41    15.777   16.575  143.2    2.0    10   33.4 
2026-01-08 07:51 UT   06 48 53.6   -13 56 31    15.779   16.577  143.2    2.0    11   33.4 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   06 48 43.1   -13 56 08    15.783   16.581  143.1    2.0    12   33.4 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   06 48 27.6   -13 55 32    15.790   16.587  143.0    2.0    14   33.4 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   06 48 12.1   -13 54 54    15.797   16.593  142.9    2.1    16   33.4 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   06 47 56.6   -13 54 13    15.805   16.599  142.7    2.1    17   33.4 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   06 47 41.3   -13 53 30    15.813   16.605  142.5    2.1    19   33.4 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   06 47 25.9   -13 52 45    15.821   16.611  142.3    2.1    21   33.4 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   06 47 10.7   -13 51 58    15.829   16.617  142.1    2.1    22   33.4 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   06 46 55.6   -13 51 08    15.837   16.623  141.8    2.1    24   33.4 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   06 46 40.5   -13 50 16    15.846   16.629  141.6    2.1    26   33.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   06 46 25.5   -13 49 21    15.855   16.635  141.3    2.1    28   33.4 

    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.