Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy

Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy is 13h 12m 36s and the Declination is -00° 45’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy is 20.38 (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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth?)
• When does Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth is currently 590,226,967 kilometers, equivalent to 3.945424 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 48.7852 seconds to travel from Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 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 to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy to Earth happens on Sat Dec 23 2028 at a distance of 0.878347 Astronomical Units, or 131,398,768 kilometers:

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

Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy, 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 25	13h 01m 06s	+00° 19’ 36”	20.29	Virgo
2023 Sep 26	13h 02m 35s	+00° 11’ 11”	20.30	Virgo
2023 Sep 27	13h 04m 03s	+00° 02’ 48”	20.31	Virgo
2023 Sep 28	13h 05m 30s	-00° 05’ 30”	20.32	Virgo
2023 Sep 29	13h 06m 57s	-00° 13’ 48”	20.33	Virgo
2023 Sep 30	13h 08m 26s	-00° 22’ 04”	20.34	Virgo
2023 Oct 01	13h 09m 52s	-00° 30’ 18”	20.35	Virgo
2023 Oct 02	13h 11m 20s	-00° 38’ 29”	20.36	Virgo
2023 Oct 03	13h 12m 47s	-00° 46’ 37”	20.38	Virgo
2023 Oct 04	13h 14m 15s	-00° 54’ 43”	20.39	Virgo
2023 Oct 05	13h 15m 42s	-01° 02’ 48”	20.40	Virgo
2023 Oct 06	13h 17m 08s	-01° 10’ 50”	20.41	Virgo
2023 Oct 07	13h 18m 34s	-01° 18’ 48”	20.42	Virgo
2023 Oct 08	13h 20m 02s	-01° 26’ 44”	20.43	Virgo