Comet 10P/Tempel 2
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Position
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension is 09h 55m 11s and the Declination is +19° 52’ 09”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 10P/Tempel 2?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 10P/Tempel 2 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Distance
The distance of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 from Earth is currently 710,192,790 kilometers, equivalent to 4.747346 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39 minutes and 28.9482 seconds to travel from Comet 10P/Tempel 2 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 10P/Tempel 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 10P/Tempel 2 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 to Earth happens on Tue Aug 4 2026 at a distance of 0.41448132 Astronomical Units, or 62,005,522 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is 21.86.
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 behvior 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 10P/Tempel 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 10P/Tempel 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 10P/Tempel 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 10P/Tempel 2 touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 at epoch 21 May 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455703.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.53630701 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.02311828° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.42207460 AU 212,739,333 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.71161575 AU 704,847,685 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.06684518 AU 458,793,509 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.3700 years 1,961.7163 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2010-Jul-04 20:16:23 2,455,382.3447 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2015-Nov-17 13:27 2,457,344.0610 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 195.62753795777° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 117.8055523495° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 58.936095488441° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18351277°/day |
Visualization of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 10P/Tempel 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 10P/Tempel 2 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 10P/Tempel 2 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Jun 10 | 09h 50m 27s | +20° 20’ 14” | 21.84 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 11 | 09h 51m 05s | +20° 16’ 37” | 21.84 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 12 | 09h 51m 41s | +20° 12’ 59” | 21.84 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 13 | 09h 52m 18s | +20° 09’ 16” | 21.85 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 14 | 09h 52m 55s | +20° 05’ 31” | 21.85 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 15 | 09h 53m 34s | +20° 01’ 45” | 21.85 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 16 | 09h 54m 12s | +19° 57’ 56” | 21.85 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 17 | 09h 54m 51s | +19° 54’ 05” | 21.86 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 18 | 09h 55m 32s | +19° 50’ 11” | 21.86 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 19 | 09h 56m 12s | +19° 46’ 14” | 21.86 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 20 | 09h 56m 53s | +19° 42’ 15” | 21.86 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 21 | 09h 57m 33s | +19° 38’ 14” | 21.86 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 22 | 09h 58m 15s | +19° 34’ 10” | 21.87 | Leo |
| 2019 Jun 23 | 09h 58m 58s | +19° 30’ 06” | 21.87 | Leo |