49P/Arend-Rigaux
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	10 Oct 2024	17.5	2.329 AU	1.484 AU	23h49m	-30°25'	138.6°	16.5°	29°
Perihelion	10 Apr 2025	15.5	1.432 AU	1.978 AU	04h12m	+14°51'	43.7°	28.9°	86°
Today	1 May 2026	21.2	3.594 AU	2.659 AU	14h59m	+09°51'	154.2°	7.0°	196°

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 12.1 + 5 log[∆] + 12.5 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 49P/Arend-Rigaux are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5988930
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.4316640
    i (Inclination)                 : 19.05970
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 118.78980
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 332.93740
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 93.01417
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.54406
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460776.08780
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.74

    Epoch                           : 2026 Apr 30
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-FR0

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.712

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   15 00 48.1   +09 49 05     2.654    3.588  154.2    7.0   199   21.2 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   14 59 57.4   +09 51 47     2.659    3.593  154.3    7.0   196   21.2 
2026-05-01 00:56 UT   14 59 55.4   +09 51 53     2.659    3.594  154.2    7.0   196   21.2 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   14 59 06.6   +09 54 19     2.665    3.599  154.2    7.0   193   21.2 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   14 58 16.0   +09 56 40     2.670    3.604  154.1    7.0   191   21.2 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   14 57 25.4   +09 58 51     2.676    3.610  154.0    7.0   188   21.2 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   14 56 34.9   +10 00 51     2.683    3.615  153.8    7.1   185   21.2 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   14 55 44.7   +10 02 41     2.689    3.620  153.6    7.1   183   21.2 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   14 54 54.6   +10 04 20     2.696    3.626  153.3    7.2   180   21.2 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   14 54 04.7   +10 05 48     2.703    3.631  153.0    7.3   178   21.3 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   14 53 15.2   +10 07 06     2.710    3.636  152.6    7.3   175   21.3 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   14 52 25.9   +10 08 13     2.718    3.642  152.2    7.4   173   21.3 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   14 51 37.0   +10 09 09     2.726    3.647  151.7    7.5   171   21.3 

    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.