BAA Comet Section : Comets discovered in 2026

Created 2026 January 1

When observing a comet please try to forget how bright you think the comet should be, what it was when you last viewed it, what other observers think it is or what the ephemeris says it should be.

The equations for the light curves of comets that are currently visible use only the raw observations and should give a reasonable prediction for the current brightness. If the comet has not yet been observed or has gone from view a correction for aperture is included, so that telescopic observers should expect the comet to be fainter than given by the equation. The correction is about 0.033 per centimetre. Values for the r parameter given in square brackets [ ] are assumed. The form of the light curve is either the standard m = H0 + 5 log d + K0 log r or the linear brightening m = H0 + 5 log d + L0 abs(t - T + D0) where T is the date of perihelion, t the present and D0 an offset, if L0 is +ve the comet brightens towards perihelion and if D0 is +ve the comet is brightest prior to perihelion.

Observations of new comets in 2026 are given in ICQ format. 

Full details of recently discovered objects will not appear until they are available on the MPC web pages. The actual accuracy of preliminary orbits is often (nearly always) much worse than the published accuracy implies.  In part this is because each orbital solution is treated as a mathematical construct and does not take account of observational error.  JPL does publish the errors, whereas the MPECs do not.

Ephemerides of current comets are available on the CBAT ephemeris page and positions of newly discovered comets are on the NEO confirmation page.
More information on LINEAR. A list of comets discovered by selected search programs.
The Northumberland refractor is the telescope that was used in the search for Neptune. It now has a 0.30-m f20 doublet lens which gives a stellar limiting magnitude of around 15 at the zenith on good nights. The Thorrowgood refractor was built in 1864 and has a 0.20-m f14 doublet lens.
Published by Jonathan Shanklin. Jon Shanklin - jds@ast.cam.ac.uk