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Comet 126P/IRAS

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 82.82°   Az: 24.72°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet 126P/IRAS is in the constellation of Ursa Major, at a distance of 654,095,164.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 10h 20m 36s and the Declination is +57° 52’ 56” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 126P/IRAS is 22.81 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 126P/IRAS in Ursa Major on February, 08 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 126P/IRAS in Ursa Major on February, 08 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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.

126P/IRAS
RA: 10h 18m 56s
Dec: +58° 00’ 32”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 126P/IRAS. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

10h 20m 36s
+57° 52’ 56”
23h 37m 25s
09h 58m 02s

J2000

10h 18m 56s
+58° 00’ 32”

Additional Information

Ursa Major
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.81

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 126P/IRAS from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet 126P/IRAS is circumpolar and transits at 01:07 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 83.6°.
  • 126P/IRAS is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-North-East direction at an altitude of 82.82° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 126P/IRAS 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 126P/IRAS from Earth is currently 654,095,164.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.3723561100 Astronomical Units. Light takes 36m 21.827s to travel from Comet 126P/IRAS and arrive to us.

654,095,164.0
4.3723561100
36m 21.827s

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.

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

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 126P/IRAS to Earth happens on Sun Sep 21 2036 at a distance of 0.789938 Astronomical Units, or 118,172,990 kilometers:

Sun Sep 21 2036
118,172,990
0.789938

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

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 126P/IRAS as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 126P/IRAS at epoch 26 May 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459361.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.69627539
Orbit inclination i 45.86937072°
Perihelion distance q 1.71300788 AU
256,262,332 km
Aphelion distance Q 9.56699938 AU
1,431,202,739 km
Semi-major axis a 5.64000363 AU
843,732,535 km
Orbital period period 13.3945 years
4,892.3498 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jul-05 08:31:56
2,460,130.8555 JD
Next perihelion transit 2036-Nov-25 16:55
2,465,023.2053 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 356.52368326532°
Longitude of the ascending node node 357.86222638312°
Mean anomaly M 303.38753461122°
Mean motion n 0.07358427°/day

Orbit Visualization

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 01 10h 29m 29s +57° 38’ 27” 22.76 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 02 10h 28m 15s +57° 41’ 07” 22.76 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 03 10h 27m 00s +57° 43’ 35” 22.77 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 04 10h 25m 44s +57° 45’ 51” 22.78 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 05 10h 24m 29s +57° 47’ 55” 22.79 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 06 10h 23m 12s +57° 49’ 48” 22.80 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 07 10h 21m 55s +57° 51’ 27” 22.80 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 08 10h 20m 38s +57° 52’ 54” 22.81 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 09 10h 19m 21s +57° 54’ 08” 22.82 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 10 10h 18m 03s +57° 55’ 10” 22.83 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 11 10h 16m 45s +57° 55’ 59” 22.84 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 12 10h 15m 28s +57° 56’ 35” 22.85 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 13 10h 14m 10s +57° 56’ 59” 22.86 Ursa Major
2025 Feb 14 10h 12m 52s +57° 57’ 09” 22.86 Ursa Major

Additional Resources