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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu

Altitude: 0.5°   Azimuth: 83.5°   Direction: East

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is currently in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 743,004,289 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Pisces on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Pisces on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is 01h 21m 41s and the Declination is +04° 23’ 40” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is 18.10 (JPL).

01h 21m 41s
+04° 23’ 40”
Pisces
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.10

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 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 85.6°
Max altitude: 42.9°
Azimuth: 274.5°
  • 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 0° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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 Resources

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu
Map showing Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Pisces on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

117P/Helin-Roman-Alu
RA: 01h 21m 41s
Dec: +04° 23’ 40”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Earth is currently 743,004,289 kilometers, equivalent to 4.966677 Astronomical Units. Light takes 41 minutes and 18.3955 seconds to travel from Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu and arrive to us.

743,004,289
4.966677
41 minutes and 18.3955 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu to Earth happens on Sun Jul 3 2022 at a distance of 2.030851 Astronomical Units, or 303,811,017 kilometers:

Sun Jul 3 2022
303,811,017
2.030851

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

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu as a function of time

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu at epoch 26 February 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457811.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.25437763
Orbit inclination i 8.70068183°
Perihelion distance q 3.05209567 AU
456,587,015 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.13461062 AU
768,126,816 km
Semi-major axis a 4.09335314 AU
612,356,916 km
Orbital period period 8.2818 years
3,024.9434 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Mar-26 18:07:22
2,456,743.2551 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Jul-07 16:45
2,459,768.1985 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 222.51149215237°
Longitude of the ascending node node 58.874006259934°
Mean anomaly M 127.13234976963°
Mean motion n 0.11901049°/day

Visualization of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu
View Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 12 01h 14m 17s +03° 30’ 47” 18.05 Pisces
2024 Mar 13 01h 15m 17s +03° 38’ 04” 18.06 Pisces
2024 Mar 14 01h 16m 18s +03° 45’ 20” 18.06 Pisces
2024 Mar 15 01h 17m 18s +03° 52’ 36” 18.07 Pisces
2024 Mar 16 01h 18m 20s +03° 59’ 52” 18.08 Pisces
2024 Mar 17 01h 19m 21s +04° 07’ 05” 18.09 Pisces
2024 Mar 18 01h 20m 21s +04° 14’ 20” 18.09 Pisces
2024 Mar 19 01h 21m 23s +04° 21’ 32” 18.10 Pisces
2024 Mar 20 01h 22m 23s +04° 28’ 45” 18.11 Pisces
2024 Mar 21 01h 23m 26s +04° 35’ 56” 18.11 Pisces
2024 Mar 22 01h 24m 26s +04° 43’ 05” 18.12 Pisces
2024 Mar 23 01h 25m 28s +04° 50’ 16” 18.13 Pisces
2024 Mar 24 01h 26m 30s +04° 57’ 24” 18.13 Pisces
2024 Mar 25 01h 27m 32s +05° 04’ 32” 18.14 Pisces