Comet 125P/Spacewatch
Comet 125P/Spacewatch is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension of Comet 125P/Spacewatch is 07h 31m 43s and the Declination is +13° 40’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 125P/Spacewatch is 25.67 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 125P/Spacewatch [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]:
- 125P/Spacewatch is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East direction at an altitude of 12° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 125P/Spacewatch is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 125P/Spacewatch Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 125P/Spacewatch?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 125P/Spacewatch in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 125P/Spacewatch Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 125P/Spacewatch from Earth is currently 600,638,386 kilometers, equivalent to 4.015020 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 23.5140 seconds to travel from Comet 125P/Spacewatch and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 125P/Spacewatch to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 125P/Spacewatch to Earth happens on Tue Jun 5 2046 at a distance of 0.603973 Astronomical Units, or 90,353,137 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 125P/Spacewatch brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 125P/Spacewatch is 25.67.
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 125P/Spacewatch, 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 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 125P/Spacewatch at epoch 10 August 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455419.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.51204018 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 9.98645795° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.52521199 AU 228,168,467 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.72617160 AU 707,025,209 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.12569180 AU 467,596,838 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.5262 years 2,018.4484 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Feb-17 09:11:49 2,456,340.8832 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2018-Aug-28 19:57 2,458,359.3316 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 87.293598440358° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 153.1877488062° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 195.66686432852° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.17835482°/day |
Visualization of Comet 125P/Spacewatch Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 125P/Spacewatch with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 125P/Spacewatch 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 125P/Spacewatch in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 125P/Spacewatch 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 125P/Spacewatch computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 125P/Spacewatch in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Sep 25 | 07h 26m 58s | +13° 59’ 17” | 25.78 | Gemini |
| 2022 Sep 26 | 07h 27m 42s | +13° 56’ 38” | 25.76 | Gemini |
| 2022 Sep 27 | 07h 28m 23s | +13° 53’ 57” | 25.75 | Gemini |
| 2022 Sep 28 | 07h 29m 03s | +13° 51’ 18” | 25.73 | Gemini |
| 2022 Sep 29 | 07h 29m 44s | +13° 48’ 38” | 25.71 | Gemini |
| 2022 Sep 30 | 07h 30m 24s | +13° 45’ 56” | 25.70 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 01 | 07h 31m 03s | +13° 43’ 15” | 25.68 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 02 | 07h 31m 41s | +13° 40’ 35” | 25.67 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 03 | 07h 32m 20s | +13° 37’ 54” | 25.65 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 04 | 07h 32m 57s | +13° 35’ 12” | 25.63 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 05 | 07h 33m 33s | +13° 32’ 33” | 25.62 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 06 | 07h 34m 09s | +13° 29’ 52” | 25.60 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 07 | 07h 34m 44s | +13° 27’ 11” | 25.58 | Gemini |
| 2022 Oct 08 | 07h 35m 17s | +13° 24’ 30” | 25.56 | Gemini |