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P/2023 S1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach1 Feb 202515.42.623 AU1.638 AU 08h55m+18°50'177.5°0.9°141°
Perihelion24 Feb 202515.52.620 AU1.705 AU 08h38m+18°21'151.8°10.3°105°
Today25 Oct 202518.32.973 AU3.934 AU 13h06m-13°33'12.9°4.3°265°
P/2023 S1 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-10-25
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 7.0 + 5 log[∆] + 17.5 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/2023 S1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3184840
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.6198370
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.15760
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 317.28910
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 180.32250
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 317.60749
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.05133
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460730.73050
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.54

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 24
    Reference                       : MPC188410

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.962

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   13 04 31.1   -13 17 36     3.935    2.969   12.1    4.0   263   18.3 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   13 06 00.5   -13 27 50     3.934    2.972   12.6    4.2   265   18.3 
2025-10-25 12:20 UT   13 06 46.5   -13 33 05     3.934    2.973   12.9    4.3   265   18.3 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   13 07 29.9   -13 38 03     3.934    2.974   13.1    4.4   266   18.3 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   13 08 59.2   -13 48 13     3.933    2.977   13.7    4.5   267   18.3 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   13 10 28.5   -13 58 22     3.932    2.979   14.2    4.7   268   18.3 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   13 11 57.6   -14 08 30     3.932    2.982   14.8    4.9   269   18.3 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   13 13 26.6   -14 18 36     3.931    2.984   15.3    5.0   270   18.3 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   13 14 55.5   -14 28 40     3.929    2.987   15.9    5.2   270   18.3 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   13 16 24.4   -14 38 42     3.928    2.989   16.4    5.4   271   18.3 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   13 17 53.1   -14 48 42     3.927    2.992   17.0    5.6   272   18.3 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   13 19 21.7   -14 58 41     3.925    2.995   17.6    5.7   272   18.3 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   13 20 50.2   -15 08 38     3.924    2.997   18.2    5.9   273   18.3 




    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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