Comet 103P/Hartley 2
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is 10h 31m 01s and the Declination is +13° 29’ 09” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is 21.07 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 103P/Hartley 2 [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 103P/Hartley 2 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 48° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 103P/Hartley 2 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 103P/Hartley 2 rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 103P/Hartley 2 available on TheSkyLive:
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
View fullscreen
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 878,478,962 kilometers, equivalent to 5.872269 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 50.2904 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 January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 to Earth happens on Wed Nov 8 2062 at a distance of 1.352585 Astronomical Units, or 202,343,881 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 21.07.
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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 103P/Hartley 2 rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 11 | 10h 30m 18s | +13° 37’ 09” | 21.00 | Leo |
| 2022 May 12 | 10h 30m 21s | +13° 36’ 20” | 21.01 | Leo |
| 2022 May 13 | 10h 30m 25s | +13° 35’ 27” | 21.02 | Leo |
| 2022 May 14 | 10h 30m 30s | +13° 34’ 32” | 21.03 | Leo |
| 2022 May 15 | 10h 30m 35s | +13° 33’ 32” | 21.04 | Leo |
| 2022 May 16 | 10h 30m 42s | +13° 32’ 29” | 21.05 | Leo |
| 2022 May 17 | 10h 30m 47s | +13° 31’ 22” | 21.06 | Leo |
| 2022 May 18 | 10h 30m 55s | +13° 30’ 11” | 21.06 | Leo |
| 2022 May 19 | 10h 31m 03s | +13° 28’ 59” | 21.07 | Leo |
| 2022 May 20 | 10h 31m 10s | +13° 27’ 42” | 21.08 | Leo |
| 2022 May 21 | 10h 31m 19s | +13° 26’ 22” | 21.09 | Leo |
| 2022 May 22 | 10h 31m 30s | +13° 25’ 00” | 21.10 | Leo |
| 2022 May 23 | 10h 31m 40s | +13° 23’ 35” | 21.11 | Leo |
| 2022 May 24 | 10h 31m 50s | +13° 22’ 05” | 21.12 | Leo |