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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:45  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:23

Comet 108P/Ciffreo

Comet 108P/Ciffreo is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 108P/Ciffreo is 12h 20m 59s and the Declination is +09° 45’ 07” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 108P/Ciffreo is 26.02 (JPL).

12h 20m 59s
+09° 45’ 07”
Virgo
26.02

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 108P/Ciffreo from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 80.3°
Max altitude: 48.2°
Azimuth: 279.7°
  • 108P/Ciffreo is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 15° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 108P/Ciffreo 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 108P/Ciffreo Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 108P/Ciffreo 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.

Map showing Comet 108P/Ciffreo in Virgo on March, 28 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 108P/Ciffreo in Virgo on March, 28 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 108P/Ciffreo is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

108P/Ciffreo
RA: 12h 20m 59s
Dec: +09° 45’ 07”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 108P/Ciffreo
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 108P/Ciffreo?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 108P/Ciffreo in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 108P/Ciffreo Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 108P/Ciffreo from Earth is currently 505,853,204 kilometers, equivalent to 3.381420 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28 minutes and 7.3447 seconds to travel from Comet 108P/Ciffreo and arrive to us.

505,853,204
3.381420
28 minutes and 7.3447 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 108P/Ciffreo 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 108P/Ciffreo 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 108P/Ciffreo from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 108P/Ciffreo to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 108P/Ciffreo to Earth happens on Thu Oct 19 2028 at a distance of 0.785921 Astronomical Units, or 117,572,159 kilometers:

Thu Oct 19 2028
117,572,159
0.785921

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

Comet 108P/Ciffreo Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 108P/Ciffreo is 26.02.

26.02
-
-

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 108P/Ciffreo, 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 108P/Ciffreo as a function of time

Comet 108P/Ciffreo Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 108P/Ciffreo at epoch 18 May 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458257.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.58101345
Orbit inclination i 13.98015613°
Perihelion distance q 1.52612512 AU
228,305,068 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.75871545 AU
861,491,571 km
Semi-major axis a 3.64242028 AU
544,898,320 km
Orbital period period 6.9517 years
2,539.1217 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Oct-11 05:28:33
2,459,498.7282 JD
Next perihelion transit 2028-Sep-23 08:23
2,462,037.8498 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 356.86170729108°
Longitude of the ascending node node 52.402394630927°
Mean anomaly M 184.01704223407°
Mean motion n 0.14178131°/day

Visualization of Comet 108P/Ciffreo Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 108P/Ciffreo with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 108P/Ciffreo 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 108P/Ciffreo
View Comet 108P/Ciffreo in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 108P/Ciffreo 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 108P/Ciffreo computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 108P/Ciffreo in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 21 12h 26m 35s +09° 18’ 02” 25.93 Virgo
2023 Mar 22 12h 25m 51s +09° 21’ 45” 25.94 Virgo
2023 Mar 23 12h 25m 08s +09° 25’ 24” 25.95 Virgo
2023 Mar 24 12h 24m 24s +09° 28’ 59” 25.96 Virgo
2023 Mar 25 12h 23m 41s +09° 32’ 30” 25.97 Virgo
2023 Mar 26 12h 22m 59s +09° 35’ 57” 25.99 Virgo
2023 Mar 27 12h 22m 15s +09° 39’ 20” 26.00 Virgo
2023 Mar 28 12h 21m 33s +09° 42’ 38” 26.01 Virgo
2023 Mar 29 12h 20m 49s +09° 45’ 51” 26.02 Virgo
2023 Mar 30 12h 20m 07s +09° 48’ 59” 26.03 Virgo
2023 Mar 31 12h 19m 24s +09° 52’ 01” 26.04 Virgo
2023 Apr 01 12h 18m 42s +09° 54’ 59” 26.05 Virgo
2023 Apr 02 12h 18m 00s +09° 57’ 51” 26.07 Virgo
2023 Apr 03 12h 17m 18s +10° 00’ 38” 26.08 Virgo