Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 722,673,384 kilometers from Earth.
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The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 52P/Harrington-Abell is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Given its current magnitude, 52P/Harrington-Abell is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is currently 722,673,384 kilometers, equivalent to 4.830773 Astronomical Units. Light takes 40 minutes and 10.5789 seconds to travel from Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth
Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth happens on Thu Jan 29 2037 at a distance of 0.878538 Astronomical Units, or 131,427,355 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell at epoch 21 June 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457561.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.54006288 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.23173068° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.77497832 AU 265,532,977 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.94337371 AU 889,116,054 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.85917601 AU 577,324,516 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.5814 years 2,769.1106 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Mar-07 08:46:57 2,456,723.8659 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Oct-05 11:26 2,459,492.9766 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 139.65914883566° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 336.83612096879° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 108.89715151903° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13000564°/day |
Visualization of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 06 | 19h 07m 39s | -32° 41’ 44” | 27.19 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 07 | 19h 07m 27s | -32° 43’ 24” | 27.19 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 08 | 19h 07m 13s | -32° 45’ 06” | 27.19 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 09 | 19h 06m 59s | -32° 46’ 49” | 27.19 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 10 | 19h 06m 43s | -32° 48’ 30” | 27.18 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 11 | 19h 06m 28s | -32° 50’ 13” | 27.18 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 12 | 19h 06m 11s | -32° 51’ 56” | 27.18 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 13 | 19h 05m 53s | -32° 53’ 39” | 27.18 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 14 | 19h 05m 34s | -32° 55’ 23” | 27.17 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 15 | 19h 05m 14s | -32° 57’ 06” | 27.17 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 16 | 19h 04m 54s | -32° 58’ 49” | 27.17 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 17 | 19h 04m 32s | -33° 00’ 30” | 27.17 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 18 | 19h 04m 10s | -33° 02’ 12” | 27.17 | Sagittarius |
| 2024 May 19 | 19h 03m 47s | -33° 03’ 55” | 27.16 | Sagittarius |