Latest Comet 104P/Kowal 2
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is 22h 01m 41s and the Declination is -06° 19’ 56” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is 23.04 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 104P/Kowal 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]:
- 104P/Kowal 2 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 22° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 104P/Kowal 2 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 104P/Kowal 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 104P/Kowal 2 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 104P/Kowal 2 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 104P/Kowal 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
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 104P/Kowal 2 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
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 from Earth
The distance of Comet 104P/Kowal 2 from Earth is currently 440,274,089 kilometers, equivalent to 2.943051 Astronomical Units. Light takes 24 minutes and 28.5963 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 0.087653 Astronomical Units, or 13,112,743 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 23.04.
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 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, 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Apr 29 | 21h 54m 03s | -07° 10’ 18” | 23.27 | Aquarius |
| 2021 Apr 30 | 21h 55m 09s | -07° 03’ 19” | 23.24 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 01 | 21h 56m 12s | -06° 56’ 17” | 23.21 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 02 | 21h 57m 16s | -06° 49’ 17” | 23.18 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 03 | 21h 58m 21s | -06° 42’ 15” | 23.15 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 04 | 21h 59m 23s | -06° 35’ 13” | 23.12 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 05 | 22h 00m 27s | -06° 28’ 11” | 23.09 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 06 | 22h 01m 29s | -06° 21’ 10” | 23.05 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 07 | 22h 02m 31s | -06° 14’ 08” | 23.02 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 08 | 22h 03m 33s | -06° 07’ 05” | 22.99 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 09 | 22h 04m 35s | -06° 00’ 02” | 22.96 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 10 | 22h 05m 35s | -05° 52’ 59” | 22.92 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 11 | 22h 06m 37s | -05° 45’ 57” | 22.89 | Aquarius |
| 2021 May 12 | 22h 07m 36s | -05° 38’ 54” | 22.86 | Aquarius |