89P/Russell
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	25 Mar 2024	16.9	2.227 AU	2.674 AU	21h12m	-26°01'	53.3°	21.1°	245°
Nearest approach	26 Aug 2024	16.5	2.484 AU	1.521 AU	23h46m	-20°05'	157.2°	9.1°	292°
Today	27 Sep 2026	23.9	4.909 AU	4.847 AU	06h27m	+31°39'	87.6°	11.8°	273°

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 9.1 + 5 log[∆] + 16.4 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 89P/Russell are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4066300
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.2266320
    i (Inclination)                 : 12.06260
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 41.32490
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 250.50300
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 111.42192
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -11.36141
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460395.49310
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 7.27

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 26
    Reference                       : MPC191600

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.904

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   06 27 26.1   +31 37 10     4.861    4.907   86.7   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   06 27 47.4   +31 39 15     4.848    4.909   87.6   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-09-27 00:24 UT   06 27 47.7   +31 39 17     4.847    4.909   87.6   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   06 28 07.8   +31 41 22     4.834    4.911   88.5   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   06 28 27.4   +31 43 30     4.820    4.912   89.4   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   06 28 46.1   +31 45 39     4.806    4.914   90.3   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   06 29 04.0   +31 47 49     4.792    4.916   91.2   11.8   273   23.9 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   06 29 21.1   +31 50 01     4.778    4.918   92.1   11.7   273   23.9 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   06 29 37.2   +31 52 13     4.764    4.919   93.0   11.7   273   23.8 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   06 29 52.4   +31 54 27     4.750    4.921   94.0   11.7   272   23.8 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   06 30 06.8   +31 56 42     4.736    4.923   94.9   11.7   272   23.8 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   06 30 20.2   +31 58 59     4.722    4.925   95.8   11.7   272   23.8 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   06 30 32.8   +32 01 16     4.708    4.927   96.7   11.6   272   23.8 

    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.