Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4
Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is 03h 34m 55s and the Declination is +11° 27’ 57” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is 17.72 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 [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]:
- 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 24° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 from Earth is currently 416,142,280 kilometers, equivalent to 2.781739 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23 minutes and 8.1012 seconds to travel from Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 to Earth happens on Sat Dec 23 2028 at a distance of 0.878502 Astronomical Units, or 131,422,067 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 is 17.72.
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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4, 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 at epoch 09 September 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457641.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.42811182 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 8.51418415° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.98007979 AU 296,215,721 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.94462976 AU 739,706,086 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.46235478 AU 517,960,903 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.4427 years 2,353.1834 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2016-Jun-16 23:31:44 2,457,556.4804 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2022-Nov-26 03:55 2,459,909.6638 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 302.3414401053° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 151.7269710718° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 13.006663694693° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15298425°/day |
Visualization of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Jun 24 | 03h 19m 51s | +10° 44’ 48” | 17.87 | Aries |
| 2022 Jun 25 | 03h 21m 56s | +10° 51’ 05” | 17.85 | Aries |
| 2022 Jun 26 | 03h 24m 01s | +10° 57’ 15” | 17.83 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jun 27 | 03h 26m 07s | +11° 03’ 23” | 17.80 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jun 28 | 03h 28m 13s | +11° 09’ 24” | 17.78 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jun 29 | 03h 30m 17s | +11° 15’ 19” | 17.76 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jun 30 | 03h 32m 25s | +11° 21’ 10” | 17.74 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 01 | 03h 34m 31s | +11° 26’ 54” | 17.72 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 02 | 03h 36m 38s | +11° 32’ 34” | 17.70 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 03 | 03h 38m 44s | +11° 38’ 08” | 17.67 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 04 | 03h 40m 51s | +11° 43’ 36” | 17.65 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 05 | 03h 43m 00s | +11° 48’ 59” | 17.63 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 06 | 03h 45m 07s | +11° 54’ 15” | 17.61 | Taurus |
| 2022 Jul 07 | 03h 47m 16s | +11° 59’ 26” | 17.59 | Taurus |