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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:52  
clear_day Transit: 12:49  
SunsetSet: 18:46 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet 104P/Kowal

Altitude: 22.1°   Azimuth: 200.5°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 104P/Kowal is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 104P/Kowal is 14h 52m 25s and the Declination is -14° 14’ 54” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 104P/Kowal is 26.91 (JPL).

14h 52m 25s
-14° 14’ 54”
Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
26.91

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 104P/Kowal from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 104.2°
Max altitude: 24.3°
Azimuth: 255.7°
  • 104P/Kowal is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 22° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 104P/Kowal 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.

Available Resources

Comet 104P/Kowal Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 104P/Kowal 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.

Finder chart of 104P/Kowal in Libra on September,27 2023
Map showing Comet 104P/Kowal in Libra on September, 27 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 104P/Kowal
Map showing Comet 104P/Kowal in Libra on September, 27 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 104P/Kowal is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

104P/Kowal
RA: 14h 52m 25s
Dec: -14° 14’ 54”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 104P/Kowal
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 104P/Kowal?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 104P/Kowal in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 104P/Kowal Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 104P/Kowal from Earth is currently 809,337,685 kilometers, equivalent to 5.410088 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44 minutes and 59.6599 seconds to travel from Comet 104P/Kowal and arrive to us.

809,337,685
5.410088
44 minutes and 59.6599 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 104P/Kowal to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 104P/Kowal to Earth happens on Tue Jan 11 2050 at a distance of 0.103653 Astronomical Units, or 15,506,266 kilometers:

Tue Jan 11 2050
15,506,266
0.103653

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

Comet 104P/Kowal Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 104P/Kowal, 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 104P/Kowal as a function of time

Comet 104P/Kowal Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 104P/Kowal at epoch 25 September 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459483.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.66545590
Orbit inclination i 5.70106710°
Perihelion distance q 1.07309960 AU
160,533,416 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.34219568 AU
799,181,101 km
Semi-major axis a 3.20764764 AU
479,857,259 km
Orbital period period 5.7450 years
2,098.3523 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Jan-11 14:48:40
2,459,591.1171 JD
Next perihelion transit 2027-Oct-10 23:16
2,461,689.4695 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 227.24546096775°
Longitude of the ascending node node 207.21370218005°
Mean anomaly M 341.53686215439°
Mean motion n 0.17156318°/day

Visualization of Comet 104P/Kowal Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 104P/Kowal with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal
View Comet 104P/Kowal in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 104P/Kowal 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 104P/Kowal computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 104P/Kowal in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 20 14h 46m 40s -13° 49’ 20” 26.83 Libra
2023 Sep 21 14h 47m 23s -13° 52’ 40” 26.84 Libra
2023 Sep 22 14h 48m 09s -13° 55’ 59” 26.85 Libra
2023 Sep 23 14h 48m 53s -13° 59’ 18” 26.86 Libra
2023 Sep 24 14h 49m 39s -14° 02’ 39” 26.87 Libra
2023 Sep 25 14h 50m 23s -14° 05’ 58” 26.88 Libra
2023 Sep 26 14h 51m 08s -14° 09’ 20” 26.89 Libra
2023 Sep 27 14h 51m 55s -14° 12’ 41” 26.90 Libra
2023 Sep 28 14h 52m 41s -14° 16’ 01” 26.91 Libra
2023 Sep 29 14h 53m 27s -14° 19’ 23” 26.92 Libra
2023 Sep 30 14h 54m 15s -14° 22’ 45” 26.92 Libra
2023 Oct 01 14h 55m 01s -14° 26’ 07” 26.93 Libra
2023 Oct 02 14h 55m 49s -14° 29’ 29” 26.94 Libra
2023 Oct 03 14h 56m 35s -14° 32’ 50” 26.95 Libra