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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:45  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 20:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham

Altitude: -49.5°   Azimuth: 73.5°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is currently in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 896,295,885 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in Libra on April,24 2024
Map showing Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in Libra on April, 24 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is 15h 41m 08s and the Declination is -28° 42’ 49” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is 25.46 (JPL).

15h 41m 08s
-28° 42’ 49”
Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
25.46

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 56P/Slaughter-Burnham from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 118.7°
Max altitude: 9.8°
Azimuth: 241.3°
  • 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 56P/Slaughter-Burnham
Map showing Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in Libra on April, 24 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

56P/Slaughter-Burnham
RA: 15h 41m 08s
Dec: -28° 42’ 49”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham from Earth is currently 896,295,885 kilometers, equivalent to 5.991368 Astronomical Units. Light takes 49 minutes and 49.7213 seconds to travel from Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham and arrive to us.

896,295,885
5.991368
49 minutes and 49.7213 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 56P/Slaughter-Burnham from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham to Earth happens on Tue Oct 25 2061 at a distance of 1.472347 Astronomical Units, or 220,260,012 kilometers:

Tue Oct 25 2061
220,260,012
1.472347

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham as a function of time

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham at epoch 08 August 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456513.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.50729911
Orbit inclination i 8.14720665°
Perihelion distance q 2.50586300 AU
374,871,770 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.66608129 AU
1,146,829,440 km
Semi-major axis a 5.08597215 AU
760,850,605 km
Orbital period period 11.4702 years
4,189.4730 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2016-Jul-18 01:52:46
2,457,587.5783 JD
Next perihelion transit 2028-Jan-06 13:13
2,461,777.0513 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 44.21693188177°
Longitude of the ascending node node 346.03803700304°
Mean anomaly M 267.70481272711°
Mean motion n 0.08592966°/day

Visualization of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham
View Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 56P/Slaughter-Burnham in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Apr 17 15h 44m 27s -28° 46’ 05” 25.50 Libra
2024 Apr 18 15h 44m 03s -28° 45’ 48” 25.49 Libra
2024 Apr 19 15h 43m 38s -28° 45’ 29” 25.49 Libra
2024 Apr 20 15h 43m 13s -28° 45’ 07” 25.48 Libra
2024 Apr 21 15h 42m 47s -28° 44’ 43” 25.48 Libra
2024 Apr 22 15h 42m 20s -28° 44’ 16” 25.47 Libra
2024 Apr 23 15h 41m 54s -28° 43’ 45” 25.47 Libra
2024 Apr 24 15h 41m 27s -28° 43’ 13” 25.46 Libra
2024 Apr 25 15h 40m 59s -28° 42’ 37” 25.46 Libra
2024 Apr 26 15h 40m 32s -28° 41’ 58” 25.45 Libra
2024 Apr 27 15h 40m 05s -28° 41’ 17” 25.45 Libra
2024 Apr 28 15h 39m 36s -28° 40’ 32” 25.44 Libra
2024 Apr 29 15h 39m 07s -28° 39’ 47” 25.44 Libra
2024 Apr 30 15h 38m 39s -28° 38’ 57” 25.43 Libra