Comet 104P/Kowal 2
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 Position
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension is 16h 50m 29s and the Declination is -17° 55’ 20”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 104P/Kowal 2?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 104P/Kowal 2 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 Distance
The distance of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 from Earth is currently 801,675,189 kilometers, equivalent to 5.358868 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44 minutes and 34.1006 seconds to travel from Comet 104P/Kowal 2 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 2 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 to Earth happens on Sun Jan 2 2061 at a distance of 0.08765315 Astronomical Units, or 13,112,724 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is 28.51.
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 behvior 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 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 2 touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 at epoch 30 July 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.63866959 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.25426992° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.17912244 AU 176,394,207 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.34743828 AU 799,965,382 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.26328036 AU 488,179,795 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.9000 years 2,153.1784 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2016-Mar-28 03:38:15 2,457,475.6516 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2022-Feb-18 07:55 2,459,628.8299 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 200.67394770051° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 235.42076373542° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 20.873994859479° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.16719469°/day |
Visualization of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 2 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 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 2 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Sep 14 | 16h 48m 07s | -17° 46’ 49” | 28.48 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 15 | 16h 48m 24s | -17° 47’ 57” | 28.48 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 16 | 16h 48m 43s | -17° 49’ 08” | 28.49 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 17 | 16h 49m 02s | -17° 50’ 18” | 28.49 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 18 | 16h 49m 23s | -17° 51’ 30” | 28.50 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 19 | 16h 49m 42s | -17° 52’ 42” | 28.50 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 20 | 16h 50m 03s | -17° 53’ 56” | 28.50 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 21 | 16h 50m 26s | -17° 55’ 09” | 28.51 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 22 | 16h 50m 48s | -17° 56’ 22” | 28.51 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 23 | 16h 51m 11s | -17° 57’ 37” | 28.52 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 24 | 16h 51m 34s | -17° 58’ 51” | 28.52 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 25 | 16h 52m 00s | -18° 00’ 07” | 28.52 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 26 | 16h 52m 23s | -18° 01’ 23” | 28.53 | Ophiucus |
| 2019 Sep 27 | 16h 52m 50s | -18° 02’ 39” | 28.53 | Ophiucus |