Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle Position
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is currently in the constellation of Hydra. The current Right Ascension is 09h 39m 35s and the Declination is -21° 30’ 08”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle Distance
The distance of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle from Earth is currently 5,711,052,186 kilometers, equivalent to 38.176026 Astronomical Units. Light takes 5 hours, 17 minutes and 30.0196 seconds to travel from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle to Earth happens on Sun Feb 17 2013 at a distance of 32.76524303 Astronomical Units, or 4,901,610,600 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is 36.28.
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 109P/Swift-Tuttle, 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle at epoch 09 October 1995 00:00 UTC (JD: 2450000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.96322576 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 113.45381700° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.95951616 AU 143,541,574 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
51.22462284 AU 7,663,094,520 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
26.09206950 AU 3,903,318,047 km |
| Orbital period | period |
133.2800 years 48,681.1935 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1992-Dec-11 23:59:41 2,448,968.4998 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2126-Mar-26 04:38 2,497,649.6932 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 152.98216763059° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 139.38119208159° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 7.6316961671242° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00739505°/day |
Visualization of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Feb 14 | 09h 40m 23s | -21° 34’ 21” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 15 | 09h 40m 18s | -21° 33’ 51” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 16 | 09h 40m 10s | -21° 33’ 20” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 17 | 09h 40m 05s | -21° 32’ 48” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 18 | 09h 39m 57s | -21° 32’ 16” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 19 | 09h 39m 51s | -21° 31’ 42” | 36.27 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 20 | 09h 39m 46s | -21° 31’ 08” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 21 | 09h 39m 38s | -21° 30’ 33” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 22 | 09h 39m 33s | -21° 29’ 56” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 23 | 09h 39m 27s | -21° 29’ 18” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 24 | 09h 39m 20s | -21° 28’ 41” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 25 | 09h 39m 14s | -21° 28’ 01” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 26 | 09h 39m 07s | -21° 27’ 21” | 36.28 | Hydra |
| 2020 Feb 27 | 09h 39m 02s | -21° 26’ 42” | 36.28 | Hydra |