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Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy

Below the horizon.  Rise: 19:59 | Tran: 0:29 | Set: 5:03
Alt: -50.87°   Az: 324.17°   Direction: North-West

Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 506,410,564.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 16h 00m 36s and the Declination is -16° 45’ 08” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy is 19.84 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy in Libra on May, 29 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy in Libra on May, 29 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

129P/Shoemaker-Levy
RA: 15h 59m 09s
Dec: -16° 40’ 53”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

16h 00m 36s
-16° 45’ 08”
10h 29m 13s
02h 29m 49s

J2000

15h 59m 09s
-16° 40’ 53”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.84

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 129P/Shoemaker-Levy from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 106.7°
Max altitude: 21.8°
Azimuth: 253.2°
  • 129P/Shoemaker-Levy is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 129P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 129P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth is currently 506,410,564.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.3851455347 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28m 9.204s to travel from Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy and arrive to us.

506,410,564.0
3.3851455347
28m 9.204s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 129P/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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 129P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 129P/Shoemaker-Levy to Earth happens on Fri Dec 24 2004 at a distance of 1.946997 Astronomical Units, or 291,266,666 kilometers:

Fri Dec 24 2004
291,266,666
1.946997

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 129P/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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy at epoch 12 October 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456213.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.09784661
Orbit inclination i 3.44203351°
Perihelion distance q 3.91136156 AU
585,131,363 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.75980592 AU
712,056,832 km
Semi-major axis a 4.33558374 AU
648,594,097 km
Orbital period period 9.0278 years
3,297.3860 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Jan-29 19:37:17
2,456,687.3176 JD
Next perihelion transit 2023-Feb-09 04:53
2,459,984.7036 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 307.01165168729°
Longitude of the ascending node node 185.98729920145°
Mean anomaly M 308.26983561914°
Mean motion n 0.10917739°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy
View Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 129P/Shoemaker-Levy 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 May 22 16h 05m 10s -16° 59’ 46” 19.83 Scorpius
2025 May 23 16h 04m 33s -16° 57’ 45” 19.83 Scorpius
2025 May 24 16h 03m 56s -16° 55’ 44” 19.83 Scorpius
2025 May 25 16h 03m 19s -16° 53’ 45” 19.83 Libra
2025 May 26 16h 02m 42s -16° 51’ 46” 19.84 Libra
2025 May 27 16h 02m 05s -16° 49’ 48” 19.84 Libra
2025 May 28 16h 01m 28s -16° 47’ 51” 19.84 Libra
2025 May 29 16h 00m 51s -16° 45’ 55” 19.84 Libra
2025 May 30 16h 00m 15s -16° 44’ 01” 19.84 Libra
2025 May 31 15h 59m 39s -16° 42’ 08” 19.84 Libra
2025 Jun 01 15h 59m 03s -16° 40’ 17” 19.85 Libra
2025 Jun 02 15h 58m 27s -16° 38’ 27” 19.85 Libra
2025 Jun 03 15h 57m 52s -16° 36’ 38” 19.85 Libra
2025 Jun 04 15h 57m 17s -16° 34’ 51” 19.85 Libra

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