Comet 103P/Hartley 2
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 103P/Hartley 2 rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 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 103P/Hartley 2 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 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 | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Aug 16 | 26.95 | 08h 42m 41s | +04° 20’ 51” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 17 | 26.95 | 08h 43m 18s | +04° 18’ 15” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 18 | 26.96 | 08h 43m 56s | +04° 15’ 37” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 19 | 26.96 | 08h 44m 35s | +04° 12’ 57” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 20 | 26.96 | 08h 45m 11s | +04° 10’ 18” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 21 | 26.97 | 08h 45m 48s | +04° 07’ 36” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 22 | 26.97 | 08h 46m 27s | +04° 04’ 54” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 23 | 26.98 | 08h 47m 03s | +04° 02’ 09” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 24 | 26.98 | 08h 47m 39s | +03° 59’ 24” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 25 | 26.98 | 08h 48m 16s | +03° 56’ 38” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 26 | 26.99 | 08h 48m 52s | +03° 53’ 49” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 27 | 26.99 | 08h 49m 28s | +03° 51’ 01” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 28 | 26.99 | 08h 50m 04s | +03° 48’ 11” | Hydra |
| 2017 Aug 29 | 27.00 | 08h 50m 40s | +03° 45’ 20” | Hydra |
Distance of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 103P/Hartley 2 is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 103P/Hartley 2
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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 at epoch 19 November 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456981.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.69378047 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 13.60427243° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.06419515 AU 159,201,329 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.88634233 AU 880,584,281 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.47526874 AU 519,892,805 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.4800 years 2,366.3611 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2017-Apr-20 07:45:09 2,457,863.8230 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2023-Oct-12 16:25 2,460,230.1841 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 181.32228577283° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 219.7487450736° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 225.77015224411° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15213232°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2064-Sep-23 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.94007267 AU 140,632,870 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.