487P/SidingSpring
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	20 Oct 2024	15.5	1.815 AU	0.974 AU	04h45m	+23°20'	134.3°	23.1°	262°
Nearest approach	13 Nov 2024	15.3	1.831 AU	0.885 AU	04h16m	+38°44'	155.1°	13.1°	218°
Today	7 Mar 2026	22.4	4.504 AU	3.728 AU	13h22m	+35°42'	136.9°	8.7°	233°

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 13.0 + 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 487P/SidingSpring are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6482680
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.8148860
    i (Inclination)                 : 39.36620
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 49.20060
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 0.83700
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 49.84771
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.53088
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460604.01690
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 11.72

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 06
    Reference                       : MPC191639

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.181

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   13 23 37.9   +35 36 55     3.726    4.497  136.5    8.7   235   22.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   13 22 54.1   +35 41 39     3.727    4.503  136.9    8.7   234   22.4 
2026-03-07 03:42 UT   13 22 47.3   +35 42 23     3.728    4.504  136.9    8.7   233   22.4 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   13 22 09.6   +35 46 16     3.729    4.508  137.2    8.6   232   22.4 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   13 21 24.3   +35 50 45     3.731    4.514  137.6    8.5   230   22.4 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   13 20 38.2   +35 55 06     3.733    4.519  137.9    8.5   228   22.4 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   13 19 51.5   +35 59 17     3.736    4.525  138.2    8.4   227   22.4 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   13 19 04.0   +36 03 20     3.738    4.530  138.5    8.4   225   22.4 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   13 18 16.0   +36 07 14     3.741    4.536  138.8    8.3   223   22.4 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   13 17 27.3   +36 10 58     3.744    4.541  139.0    8.3   221   22.4 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   13 16 38.0   +36 14 33     3.747    4.547  139.2    8.2   220   22.4 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   13 15 48.1   +36 17 58     3.751    4.552  139.4    8.2   218   22.4 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   13 14 57.8   +36 21 13     3.755    4.558  139.5    8.1   216   22.4 

    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.