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Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Ephemeris Calculator
Compute the position of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 for any date and time between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100 and display the results on an interactive star map.
In Evidence
Comet 103P/Hartley 2
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is 03h 51m 08s and the Declination is +12° 54’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is 24.72 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 103P/Hartley 2 is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 103P/Hartley 2 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 103P/Hartley 2 finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 103P/Hartley 2?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 from Earth is currently 872,759,878 kilometers, equivalent to 5.834039 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 31.2136 seconds to travel from Comet 103P/Hartley 2 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 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 103P/Hartley 2 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 to Earth
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 to Earth happens on Wed Jul 8 2076 at a distance of 0.561602 Astronomical Units, or 84,014,484 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is 24.72.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 103P/Hartley 2, 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 103P/Hartley 2 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Mar 24 | 03h 46m 47s | +12° 31’ 10” | 24.67 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 25 | 03h 47m 24s | +12° 34’ 33” | 24.67 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 26 | 03h 47m 59s | +12° 37’ 55” | 24.68 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 27 | 03h 48m 37s | +12° 41’ 17” | 24.69 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 28 | 03h 49m 14s | +12° 44’ 39” | 24.70 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 29 | 03h 49m 51s | +12° 48’ 01” | 24.71 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 30 | 03h 50m 30s | +12° 51’ 21” | 24.71 | Taurus |
| 2023 Mar 31 | 03h 51m 07s | +12° 54’ 42” | 24.72 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 01 | 03h 51m 47s | +12° 58’ 01” | 24.73 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 02 | 03h 52m 24s | +13° 01’ 21” | 24.74 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 03 | 03h 53m 04s | +13° 04’ 40” | 24.74 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 04 | 03h 53m 44s | +13° 07’ 58” | 24.75 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 05 | 03h 54m 24s | +13° 11’ 15” | 24.76 | Taurus |
| 2023 Apr 06 | 03h 55m 05s | +13° 14’ 30” | 24.76 | Taurus |