C/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) - DISINTEGRATED
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Disintegration	21 Apr 2022	9.4	0.285 AU	0.981 AU	02h50m	+03°09'	16.5°	86.5°	122°
Perihelion	21 Apr 2022	-	0.285 AU	0.964 AU	02h53m	+03°37'	16.5°	90.0°	121°
Nearest approach	8 May 2022	12.3	0.590 AU	0.606 AU	04h01m	+46°48'	32.0°	115.1°	27°
Today	30 Mar 2026	-	13.749 AU	14.008 AU	19h46m	+33°06'	72.9°	4.0°	277°

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 12.6 + 5 log[∆] + 5.7 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/2021 O3 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000670
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.2849120
    i (Inclination)                 : 56.85610
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.64080
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 300.09630
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 145.31137
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -46.42049
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459690.93270

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   19 46 26.2   +33 01 25    14.012   13.739   72.1    4.0   278   24.8 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   19 46 32.7   +33 04 48    14.009   13.745   72.7    4.0   277   24.8 
2026-03-30 12:59 UT   19 46 36.0   +33 06 39    14.008   13.749   72.9    4.0   277   24.8 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   19 46 38.8   +33 08 12    14.007   13.752   73.2    4.0   276   24.8 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   19 46 44.6   +33 11 37    14.005   13.758   73.7    4.0   276   24.8 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   19 46 50.1   +33 15 02    14.002   13.765   74.3    4.0   275   24.8 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   19 46 55.2   +33 18 27    13.999   13.771   74.8    4.0   274   24.8 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   19 47 00.1   +33 21 53    13.997   13.778   75.3    4.0   273   24.8 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   19 47 04.6   +33 25 19    13.994   13.784   75.9    4.0   272   24.8 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   19 47 08.7   +33 28 45    13.991   13.791   76.4    4.0   271   24.8 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   19 47 12.6   +33 32 12    13.988   13.797   77.0    4.1   271   24.8 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   19 47 16.1   +33 35 38    13.985   13.804   77.5    4.1   270   24.8 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   19 47 19.3   +33 39 05    13.983   13.810   78.0    4.1   269   24.8 

    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.