240P/NEAT
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	28 Oct 2025	13.5	2.162 AU	1.251 AU	04h10m	+01°57'	148.5°	13.9°	292°
Nearest approach	24 Nov 2025	13.3	2.132 AU	1.161 AU	03h45m	+06°32'	165.8°	6.5°	12°
Perihelion	19 Dec 2025	13.4	2.122 AU	1.249 AU	03h22m	+13°00'	143.4°	16.0°	68°

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 9.7 + 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 240P/NEAT are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4505020
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.1216590
    i (Inclination)                 : 23.53690
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 74.91140
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 352.07690
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 67.64011
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.15553
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461029.44680
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.59

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 27
    Reference                       : MPC188418

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.758

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   04 11 09.4   +01 45 47     1.262    2.164  146.9   14.5   291   13.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   04 10 33.8   +01 52 51     1.255    2.162  147.9   14.1   292   13.5 
2025-10-28 15:03 UT   04 10 10.6   +01 57 23     1.251    2.162  148.5   13.9   292   13.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   04 09 56.4   +02 00 08     1.249    2.161  148.9   13.8   293   13.5 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   04 09 17.2   +02 07 39     1.242    2.160  149.8   13.4   294   13.5 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   04 08 36.2   +02 15 24     1.236    2.158  150.8   13.0   295   13.5 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   04 07 53.4   +02 23 23     1.230    2.157  151.8   12.6   296   13.4 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   04 07 09.0   +02 31 36     1.225    2.155  152.8   12.2   298   13.4 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   04 06 23.0   +02 40 04     1.219    2.154  153.7   11.8   299   13.4 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   04 05 35.3   +02 48 46     1.214    2.153  154.7   11.4   301   13.4 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   04 04 46.1   +02 57 42     1.209    2.151  155.6   11.0   303   13.4 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   04 03 55.5   +03 06 52     1.204    2.150  156.6   10.6   304   13.4 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   04 03 03.4   +03 16 18     1.199    2.149  157.5   10.2   306   13.4 

    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.