260P/McNaught |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
Today | 13 Oct 2025 | 21.3 | 3.093 AU | 3.774 AU | 15h37m | -31°57' | 41.1° | 12.3° | 118° |
Perihelion | 5 Aug 2026 | 15.4 | 1.418 AU | 1.180 AU | 03h12m | +23°47' | 80.1° | 44.8° | 256° |
Nearest approach | 9 Nov 2026 | 15.9 | 1.764 AU | 0.980 AU | 06h21m | +50°45' | 127.1° | 26.6° | 249° |
260P/McNaught- 2025-10-13
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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. (13.5 + 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 260P/McNaught are:
e (Eccentricity) : 0.6087280
q (Perihelion distance) : 1.4178060
i (Inclination) : 15.04250
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 349.29750
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 18.49560
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 7.20042
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 4.72267
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2461257.51280
P (Orbital period in years) : 6.90
Epoch : 2025 Oct 12
Reference : MPEC 2022-O01
Classification(s): : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
Tisserand (Jupiter) : 2.715
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2025-10-13 00:00 UT 15 37 05.2 -31 56 29 3.772 3.096 41.5 12.3 118 21.3
2025-10-13 13:28 UT 15 37 53.9 -31 57 58 3.774 3.093 41.1 12.3 118 21.3
2025-10-14 00:00 UT 15 38 32.1 -31 59 08 3.775 3.090 40.9 12.2 118 21.3
2025-10-15 00:00 UT 15 39 59.7 -32 01 49 3.777 3.083 40.2 12.1 118 21.3
2025-10-16 00:00 UT 15 41 28.0 -32 04 30 3.780 3.077 39.6 11.9 118 21.3
2025-10-17 00:00 UT 15 42 56.9 -32 07 12 3.782 3.071 38.9 11.8 119 21.3
2025-10-18 00:00 UT 15 44 26.6 -32 09 55 3.784 3.065 38.3 11.6 119 21.3
2025-10-19 00:00 UT 15 45 56.9 -32 12 38 3.786 3.058 37.7 11.5 119 21.2
2025-10-20 00:00 UT 15 47 27.8 -32 15 21 3.788 3.052 37.0 11.3 119 21.2
2025-10-21 00:00 UT 15 48 59.5 -32 18 05 3.789 3.046 36.4 11.2 119 21.2
2025-10-22 00:00 UT 15 50 31.8 -32 20 50 3.791 3.039 35.8 11.0 120 21.2
2025-10-23 00:00 UT 15 52 04.7 -32 23 34 3.792 3.033 35.2 10.9 120 21.2
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.