Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is currently in the constellation of Hydra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is 09h 42m 12s and the Declination is -21° 20’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is 36.42 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle [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]:
- 109P/Swift-Tuttle is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-West direction at an altitude of 1° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 109P/Swift-Tuttle is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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 109P/Swift-Tuttle available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle 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
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
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 from Earth
The distance of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle from Earth is currently 5,821,066,550 kilometers, equivalent to 38.911426 Astronomical Units. Light takes 5 hours, 23 minutes and 36.9880 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 32.765243 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 36.42.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 18 | 09h 42m 55s | -21° 21’ 00” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 19 | 09h 42m 50s | -21° 20’ 57” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 09h 42m 43s | -21° 20’ 53” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 09h 42m 38s | -21° 20’ 48” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 09h 42m 32s | -21° 20’ 41” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 09h 42m 25s | -21° 20’ 34” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 09h 42m 20s | -21° 20’ 26” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 09h 42m 14s | -21° 20’ 17” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 09h 42m 07s | -21° 20’ 06” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 09h 42m 02s | -21° 19’ 54” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 28 | 09h 41m 56s | -21° 19’ 42” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 29 | 09h 41m 49s | -21° 19’ 28” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 30 | 09h 41m 44s | -21° 19’ 14” | 36.42 | Hydra |
| 2021 Jan 31 | 09h 41m 38s | -21° 18’ 59” | 36.42 | Hydra |