Comet 126P/IRAS

Comet 126P/IRAS is currently in the constellation of Cepheus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 126P/IRAS is 23h 19m 04s and the Declination is +65° 51’ 39” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 126P/IRAS is 16.54 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 17.3 (COBS).

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 126P/IRAS 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 126P/IRAS?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 126P/IRAS from Earth?)
• When does Comet 126P/IRAS rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 126P/IRAS?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 126P/IRAS orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 126P/IRAS with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 126P/IRAS for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 126P/IRAS in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 126P/IRAS with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 126P/IRAS is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 126P/IRAS?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 126P/IRAS in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 126P/IRAS Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 126P/IRAS from Earth is currently 274,847,949 kilometers, equivalent to 1.837245 Astronomical Units. Light takes 15 minutes and 16.7941 seconds to travel from Comet 126P/IRAS and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 126P/IRAS 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 126P/IRAS from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 126P/IRAS to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 126P/IRAS to Earth happens on Sun Sep 21 2036 at a distance of 0.789425 Astronomical Units, or 118,096,354 kilometers:

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

Comet 126P/IRAS Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 126P/IRAS, 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 126P/IRAS Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 126P/IRAS with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 126P/IRAS 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 126P/IRAS 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 126P/IRAS computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 126P/IRAS in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Dec 04	23h 15m 16s	+66° 47’ 11”	16.29	Cepheus
2023 Dec 05	23h 15m 33s	+66° 39’ 11”	16.32	Cepheus
2023 Dec 06	23h 15m 56s	+66° 31’ 18”	16.36	Cepheus
2023 Dec 07	23h 16m 23s	+66° 23’ 31”	16.39	Cepheus
2023 Dec 08	23h 16m 54s	+66° 15’ 52”	16.42	Cepheus
2023 Dec 09	23h 17m 29s	+66° 08’ 21”	16.46	Cepheus
2023 Dec 10	23h 18m 07s	+66° 00’ 59”	16.49	Cepheus
2023 Dec 11	23h 18m 51s	+65° 53’ 44”	16.53	Cepheus
2023 Dec 12	23h 19m 37s	+65° 46’ 36”	16.56	Cepheus
2023 Dec 13	23h 20m 29s	+65° 39’ 38”	16.59	Cepheus
2023 Dec 14	23h 21m 23s	+65° 32’ 49”	16.63	Cepheus
2023 Dec 15	23h 22m 20s	+65° 26’ 09”	16.66	Cepheus
2023 Dec 16	23h 23m 21s	+65° 19’ 39”	16.70	Cepheus
2023 Dec 17	23h 24m 26s	+65° 13’ 17”	16.73	Cepheus