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488P/NEAT-PANSTARRS
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion20 May 202420.21.681 AU1.910 AU23h50m-00°35'61.5°31.9°247°
Nearest approach8 Oct 202420.32.143 AU1.255 AU02h32m+34°21'143.7°16.0°224°
Today19 Oct 202525.74.154 AU3.974 AU07h44m+29°52'93.4°13.8°280°
488P/NEAT-PANSTARRS- 2025-10-19
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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. (16.5 + 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 488P/NEAT-PANSTARRS are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5515410
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.6812050
    i (Inclination)                 : 11.40960
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 323.72210
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 2.09620
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 325.77691
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.41458
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460450.51270
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.26

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 18
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-UA9

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.776

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   07 44 22.6   +29 51 14     3.993    4.146   91.8   13.9   280   25.7 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   07 44 40.7   +29 51 43     3.982    4.150   92.7   13.9   280   25.7 
2025-10-19 17:33 UT   07 44 53.3   +29 52 06     3.974    4.154   93.4   13.8   280   25.7 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   07 44 57.8   +29 52 15     3.971    4.155   93.7   13.8   280   25.7 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   07 45 13.8   +29 52 49     3.959    4.159   94.6   13.8   280   25.7 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   07 45 28.8   +29 53 26     3.948    4.163   95.5   13.8   279   25.7 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   07 45 42.7   +29 54 05     3.937    4.168   96.4   13.7   279   25.7 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   07 45 55.4   +29 54 47     3.926    4.172   97.4   13.7   279   25.7 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   07 46 07.1   +29 55 32     3.915    4.176   98.3   13.6   279   25.7 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   07 46 17.7   +29 56 19     3.903    4.181   99.3   13.6   279   25.7 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   07 46 27.2   +29 57 09     3.892    4.185  100.2   13.5   279   25.7 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   07 46 35.5   +29 58 02     3.881    4.189  101.2   13.5   279   25.7 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   07 46 42.7   +29 58 57     3.870    4.194  102.2   13.4   279   25.7 




    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.

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