Skip Navigation Links

P/2025 D3 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion25 Jul 202422.42.966 AU3.973 AU 08h10m+13°21'6.6°2.3°203°
Nearest approach4 Mar 202521.43.158 AU2.172 AU 11h11m+00°03'172.8°2.3°334°
Today11 Dec 202523.73.740 AU4.472 AU 14h40m-11°56'37.5°9.2°292°
P/2025 D3 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-12-11
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. (14.7 + 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/2025 D3 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2524810
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.9660780
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.64290
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 186.63440
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 294.52190
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 121.46560
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.76594
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460517.45270
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.90

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 10
    Reference                       : MPC186632

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family; Quasi-Hilda
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.977

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   14 39 39.9   -11 52 32     4.480    3.737   36.7    9.1   292   23.7 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   14 40 48.1   -11 56 20     4.473    3.739   37.4    9.2   292   23.7 
2025-12-11 01:44 UT   14 40 53.0   -11 56 36     4.472    3.740   37.5    9.2   292   23.7 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   14 41 56.1   -12 00 03     4.466    3.742   38.2    9.4   292   23.7 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   14 43 03.7   -12 03 44     4.459    3.744   38.9    9.5   292   23.7 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   14 44 11.1   -12 07 21     4.451    3.746   39.6    9.7   292   23.7 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   14 45 18.2   -12 10 54     4.444    3.748   40.4    9.8   292   23.7 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   14 46 25.0   -12 14 23     4.436    3.751   41.1    9.9   292   23.7 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   14 47 31.4   -12 17 49     4.428    3.753   41.9   10.1   291   23.7 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   14 48 37.5   -12 21 12     4.420    3.755   42.6   10.2   291   23.7 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   14 49 43.3   -12 24 30     4.412    3.757   43.3   10.4   291   23.7 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   14 50 48.8   -12 27 45     4.403    3.760   44.1   10.5   291   23.7 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   14 51 53.8   -12 30 56     4.395    3.762   44.8   10.6   291   23.7 




    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