Comet 10P/Tempel

Comet 10P/Tempel (also known as Comet Tempel 2) is a periodic comet that orbits the Sun once every 5.4 years. It has an eccentric orbit that takes it from a perihelion distance of 1.4 astronomical units (AU) to an aphelion distance of 4.7 AU. It was first discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in France on July 4, 1873.

Comet 10P/Tempel is currently in the constellation of Leo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 10P/Tempel is 09h 54m 23s and the Declination is +16° 39’ 23” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 10P/Tempel is 20.98 (JPL).

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted 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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 10P/Tempel from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 10P/Tempel?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 10P/Tempel from Earth?)
• When does Comet 10P/Tempel rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 10P/Tempel?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 10P/Tempel orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 10P/Tempel with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 10P/Tempel for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 10P/Tempel in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 10P/Tempel with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 10P/Tempel is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 10P/Tempel?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 10P/Tempel in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 10P/Tempel Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 10P/Tempel from Earth is currently 638,355,695 kilometers, equivalent to 4.267144 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35 minutes and 29.3254 seconds to travel from Comet 10P/Tempel and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 10P/Tempel 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 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 10P/Tempel to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 10P/Tempel to Earth happens on Tue Aug 4 2026 at a distance of 0.414485 Astronomical Units, or 62,006,140 kilometers:

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

Comet 10P/Tempel Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 10P/Tempel, 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.

Visualization of Comet 10P/Tempel Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 10P/Tempel with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 10P/Tempel 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!

Comet 10P/Tempel 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 10P/Tempel 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 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Dec 01	09h 54m 06s	+16° 27’ 36”	21.04	Leo
2023 Dec 02	09h 54m 11s	+16° 28’ 51”	21.04	Leo
2023 Dec 03	09h 54m 15s	+16° 30’ 12”	21.03	Leo
2023 Dec 04	09h 54m 19s	+16° 31’ 38”	21.02	Leo
2023 Dec 05	09h 54m 21s	+16° 33’ 10”	21.01	Leo
2023 Dec 06	09h 54m 23s	+16° 34’ 46”	21.00	Leo
2023 Dec 07	09h 54m 24s	+16° 36’ 28”	21.00	Leo
2023 Dec 08	09h 54m 24s	+16° 38’ 14”	20.99	Leo
2023 Dec 09	09h 54m 23s	+16° 40’ 06”	20.98	Leo
2023 Dec 10	09h 54m 20s	+16° 42’ 03”	20.97	Leo
2023 Dec 11	09h 54m 17s	+16° 44’ 05”	20.97	Leo
2023 Dec 12	09h 54m 14s	+16° 46’ 13”	20.96	Leo
2023 Dec 13	09h 54m 08s	+16° 48’ 24”	20.95	Leo
2023 Dec 14	09h 54m 02s	+16° 50’ 43”	20.94	Leo