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73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today 3 May 2022 16.3 1.768 AU 1.371 AU 09h41m +28°51' 94.8° 34.6° 111°
Perihelion 25 Aug 2022 12.2 0.973 AU 1.045 AU 13h41m -14°13' 56.5° 60.0° 113°
Nearest approach 22 Sep 2022 12.5 1.048 AU 0.966 AU 15h53m -30°19' 64.3° 59.6° 107°

73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann - 2022-06-03
 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.)

The orbital elements of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann are:

e (eccentricity) : 0.6853780
q (perihelion distance) : 0.9729730
i (inclination) : 11.22770
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 69.61140
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 199.48580
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 88.75163
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -3.72396
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459817.29100
P (Orbital period in years) : 5.44

Epoch : 2022 May 03

Reference : MPEC 2022-HC2

Classification(s): : Ecliptic; Jupiter family

Tisserand (Jupiter) : 2.784

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD
observations respectively from COBS or the MPC. The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from
the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (11.50 + 5 log[∆] + 15.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every
6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 12.26 + 5 log[∆] + 13.42 log[r]).
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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.
The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.
A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.
Ephemerides:
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2022-05-03 00:00 UT 09 40 46.6 +28 58 23 1.369 1.775 95.4 34.4 111 16.3
2022-05-03 17:20 UT 09 41 03.6 +28 51 34 1.371 1.768 94.8 34.6 111 16.3
2022-05-04 00:00 UT 09 41 10.5 +28 48 55 1.371 1.766 94.6 34.7 111 16.3
2022-05-05 00:00 UT 09 41 36.9 +28 39 16 1.373 1.757 93.8 34.9 111 16.2
2022-05-06 00:00 UT 09 42 05.6 +28 29 25 1.375 1.747 93.0 35.2 110 16.2
2022-05-07 00:00 UT 09 42 36.7 +28 19 23 1.377 1.738 92.2 35.4 110 16.2
2022-05-08 00:00 UT 09 43 10.0 +28 09 11 1.378 1.729 91.5 35.7 110 16.1
2022-05-09 00:00 UT 09 43 45.7 +27 58 47 1.380 1.720 90.7 35.9 110 16.1
2022-05-10 00:00 UT 09 44 23.6 +27 48 12 1.382 1.711 90.0 36.2 110 16.1
2022-05-11 00:00 UT 09 45 03.7 +27 37 27 1.383 1.702 89.2 36.4 110 16.1
2022-05-12 00:00 UT 09 45 46.0 +27 26 31 1.385 1.692 88.5 36.6 110 16.0
2022-05-13 00:00 UT 09 46 30.5 +27 15 23 1.386 1.683 87.8 36.9 109 16.0

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.