Skip Navigation Links

P/2024 S2 (Rankin)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion16 Sep 202419.42.048 AU1.841 AU05h45m+29°43'86.8°29.4°269°
Nearest approach15 Dec 202419.02.208 AU1.266 AU06h57m+36°00'157.6°9.8°241°
Today17 Oct 202524.13.795 AU4.580 AU11h26m+06°39'34.0°8.4°297°
P/2024 S2 (Rankin)- 2025-10-17
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 month
-1 week
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 week
+1 month

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (15.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 P/2024 S2 (Rankin) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5934770
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.0475050
    i (Inclination)                 : 7.52630
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 8.33500
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 49.15700
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 57.24658
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.68665
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460569.74620
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 11.30

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 15
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-A40

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.603

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   11 25 49.5   +06 47 02     4.583    3.788   33.2    8.3   298   24.1 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   11 26 48.6   +06 40 21     4.580    3.794   33.9    8.4   297   24.1 
2025-10-17 03:32 UT   11 26 57.3   +06 39 23     4.580    3.795   34.0    8.4   297   24.1 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   11 27 47.4   +06 33 43     4.577    3.799   34.6    8.6   297   24.1 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   11 28 45.8   +06 27 07     4.574    3.805   35.3    8.7   297   24.1 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   11 29 43.8   +06 20 33     4.570    3.810   36.0    8.8   297   24.1 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   11 30 41.4   +06 14 02     4.566    3.816   36.8    9.0   297   24.1 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   11 31 38.7   +06 07 34     4.562    3.821   37.5    9.1   297   24.1 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   11 32 35.5   +06 01 08     4.558    3.827   38.2    9.3   297   24.1 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   11 33 31.8   +05 54 45     4.554    3.832   39.0    9.4   297   24.1 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   11 34 27.8   +05 48 24     4.550    3.838   39.7    9.5   297   24.1 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   11 35 23.4   +05 42 07     4.545    3.843   40.5    9.7   297   24.1 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   11 36 18.5   +05 35 52     4.540    3.849   41.2    9.8   297   24.1 




    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.

Privacy policy