Latest Comet 10P/Tempel 2
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is 00h 55m 50s and the Declination is -01° 00’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is 16.57 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 10P/Tempel 2 [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]:
- 10P/Tempel 2 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 35° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 10P/Tempel 2 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 10P/Tempel 2 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 10P/Tempel 2 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 10P/Tempel 2 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
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
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 from Earth
The distance of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 from Earth is currently 319,725,007 kilometers, equivalent to 2.137230 Astronomical Units. Light takes 17 minutes and 46.4878 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 0.414484 Astronomical Units, or 62,005,860 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 16.57.
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 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, 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 10P/Tempel 2 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 10P/Tempel 2 at epoch 05 November 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455871.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.53627216 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.02425036° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.42180148 AU 212,698,475 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.71025000 AU 704,643,372 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.06602574 AU 458,670,923 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.3700 years 1,960.9301 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2010-Jul-04 18:51:58 2,455,382.2861 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2015-Nov-16 17:11 2,457,343.2162 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 195.60731786638° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 117.80225136535° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 89.81299354303° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18358635°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 05 | 00h 34m 41s | -02° 37’ 17” | 16.53 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 06 | 00h 37m 35s | -02° 24’ 03” | 16.53 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 07 | 00h 40m 27s | -02° 10’ 54” | 16.54 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 08 | 00h 43m 18s | -01° 57’ 48” | 16.55 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 09 | 00h 46m 08s | -01° 44’ 48” | 16.55 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 10 | 00h 48m 57s | -01° 31’ 54” | 16.56 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 11 | 00h 51m 47s | -01° 19’ 05” | 16.56 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 12 | 00h 54m 36s | -01° 06’ 20” | 16.57 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 13 | 00h 57m 23s | -00° 53’ 42” | 16.57 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 14 | 01h 00m 10s | -00° 41’ 08” | 16.58 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 15 | 01h 02m 57s | -00° 28’ 41” | 16.58 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 16 | 01h 05m 41s | -00° 16’ 21” | 16.59 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 17 | 01h 08m 26s | -00° 04’ 06” | 16.60 | Cetus |
| 2021 May 18 | 01h 11m 11s | +00° 08’ 00” | 16.60 | Cetus |