65P/Gunn
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	16 Jun 2025	16.0	2.926 AU	1.941 AU	18h49m	-30°38'	162.6°	5.9°	291°
Nearest approach	29 Jun 2025	16.0	2.927 AU	1.917 AU	18h39m	-31°29'	171.6°	2.9°	351°
Today	8 Mar 2026	18.3	3.196 AU	4.146 AU	22h36m	-16°25'	14.7°	4.5°	220°

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 7.6 + 5 log[∆] + 15.0 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 65P/Gunn are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2480700
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.9260360
    i (Inclination)                 : 9.17490
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 61.96910
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 213.63630
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 95.26602
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.06706
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460842.77520
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.68

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 07
    Reference                       : MPC191598

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family; Quasi-Hilda
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.991

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   22 34 07.0   -16 36 29     4.147    3.193   14.0    4.3   218   18.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   22 35 34.7   -16 28 26     4.146    3.195   14.5    4.5   219   18.3 
2026-03-08 07:26 UT   22 36 01.8   -16 25 56     4.146    3.196   14.7    4.5   220   18.3 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   22 37 02.1   -16 20 23     4.145    3.197   15.1    4.6   221   18.3 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   22 38 29.3   -16 12 21     4.144    3.199   15.6    4.8   222   18.3 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   22 39 56.2   -16 04 19     4.142    3.201   16.2    5.0   223   18.3 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   22 41 22.9   -15 56 18     4.141    3.202   16.7    5.1   223   18.3 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   22 42 49.3   -15 48 17     4.139    3.204   17.3    5.3   224   18.3 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   22 44 15.5   -15 40 16     4.138    3.206   17.9    5.5   225   18.3 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   22 45 41.5   -15 32 16     4.136    3.208   18.5    5.6   226   18.3 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   22 47 07.2   -15 24 17     4.134    3.210   19.0    5.8   226   18.3 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   22 48 32.6   -15 16 19     4.131    3.212   19.6    6.0   227   18.3 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   22 49 57.8   -15 08 21     4.129    3.213   20.2    6.1   228   18.3 

    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.