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C/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion13 Apr 202614.23.570 AU3.399 AU 19h21m-03°41'91.5°16.3°261°
Nearest approach12 Jun 202613.73.612 AU2.626 AU 17h35m-07°07'163.7°4.5°191°
Today3 Oct 202615.33.899 AU4.557 AU 15h27m-17°55'44.0°10.3°103°
C/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-10-03
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. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 5.3 + 5 log[∆] + 11.4 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/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0022160
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.5700720
    i (Inclination)                 : 149.31280
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 62.57130
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 144.25640
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 94.32638
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.34508
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461143.85350

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 02
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-T05

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   15 27 23.5   -17 47 30     4.528    3.893   45.5   10.6   103   15.3 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   15 27 28.0   -17 52 39     4.546    3.897   44.6   10.4   103   15.3 
2026-10-03 15:20 UT   15 27 31.1   -17 55 56     4.557    3.899   44.0   10.3   103   15.3 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   15 27 33.0   -17 57 48     4.563    3.900   43.6   10.2   103   15.3 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   15 27 38.7   -18 02 56     4.580    3.904   42.7   10.0   103   15.3 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   15 27 44.9   -18 08 04     4.596    3.907   41.7    9.8   103   15.3 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   15 27 51.6   -18 13 13     4.613    3.911   40.8    9.6   103   15.4 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   15 27 58.9   -18 18 20     4.629    3.915   39.9    9.4   104   15.4 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   15 28 06.8   -18 23 28     4.645    3.918   38.9    9.2   104   15.4 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   15 28 15.1   -18 28 36     4.661    3.922   38.0    9.0   104   15.4 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   15 28 23.9   -18 33 43     4.676    3.926   37.1    8.8   104   15.4 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   15 28 33.3   -18 38 50     4.691    3.929   36.1    8.6   104   15.4 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   15 28 43.1   -18 43 57     4.706    3.933   35.2    8.4   104   15.4 




    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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