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Comet 106P/Schuster

Below the horizon.  Rise: 0:49 | Tran: 5:29 | Set: 10:09
Alt: -21.89°   Az: 86.67°   Direction: East

Comet 106P/Schuster is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 864,255,931.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 15m 15s and the Declination is -14° 57’ 37” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 106P/Schuster is 32.61 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 106P/Schuster in Libra on February, 16 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 106P/Schuster in Libra on February, 16 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 106P/Schuster is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

106P/Schuster
RA: 15h 13m 51s
Dec: -14° 52’ 04”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 106P/Schuster. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 106P/Schuster?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 106P/Schuster in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 15m 15s
-14° 57’ 37”
16h 54m 00s
08h 09m 16s

J2000

15h 13m 51s
-14° 52’ 04”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
32.61

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 106P/Schuster from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 105.0°
Max altitude: 23.6°
Azimuth: 255.0°
  • 106P/Schuster is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 106P/Schuster 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 106P/Schuster from Earth is currently 864,255,931.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.7771940667 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48m 2.847s to travel from Comet 106P/Schuster and arrive to us.

864,255,931.0
5.7771940667
48m 2.847s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 106P/Schuster 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 106P/Schuster 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 106P/Schuster from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 106P/Schuster to Earth happens on Mon Nov 7 2050 at a distance of 0.530747 Astronomical Units, or 79,398,636 kilometers:

Mon Nov 7 2050
79,398,636
0.530747

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 106P/Schuster, 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 106P/Schuster as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 106P/Schuster at epoch 14 April 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457493.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.58951152
Orbit inclination i 20.19636735°
Perihelion distance q 1.54081872 AU
230,503,201 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.96642597 AU
892,564,622 km
Semi-major axis a 3.75362235 AU
561,533,912 km
Orbital period period 7.2725 years
2,656.2827 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Jul-20 10:55:26
2,456,858.9552 JD
Next perihelion transit 2021-Oct-27 17:42
2,459,515.2379 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 355.98270608406°
Longitude of the ascending node node 50.325483951955°
Mean anomaly M 85.998429110553°
Mean motion n 0.13552774°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 106P/Schuster
View Comet 106P/Schuster in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 106P/Schuster computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 09 15h 14m 21s -14° 51’ 10” 32.65 Libra
2025 Feb 10 15h 14m 30s -14° 52’ 08” 32.64 Libra
2025 Feb 11 15h 14m 39s -14° 53’ 02” 32.64 Libra
2025 Feb 12 15h 14m 48s -14° 53’ 54” 32.63 Libra
2025 Feb 13 15h 14m 55s -14° 54’ 44” 32.63 Libra
2025 Feb 14 15h 15m 01s -14° 55’ 32” 32.62 Libra
2025 Feb 15 15h 15m 07s -14° 56’ 17” 32.62 Libra
2025 Feb 16 15h 15m 12s -14° 56’ 59” 32.61 Libra
2025 Feb 17 15h 15m 16s -14° 57’ 39” 32.61 Libra
2025 Feb 18 15h 15m 20s -14° 58’ 16” 32.60 Libra
2025 Feb 19 15h 15m 23s -14° 58’ 51” 32.59 Libra
2025 Feb 20 15h 15m 25s -14° 59’ 24” 32.59 Libra
2025 Feb 21 15h 15m 27s -14° 59’ 53” 32.58 Libra
2025 Feb 22 15h 15m 27s -15° 00’ 21” 32.58 Libra

Additional Resources