Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
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 behvior 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.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 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 12P/Pons-Brooks in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Dec 03 | 17h 49m 46s | +11° 51’ 54” | 28.44 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 04 | 17h 50m 02s | +11° 51’ 29” | 28.44 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 05 | 17h 50m 17s | +11° 51’ 06” | 28.44 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 06 | 17h 50m 34s | +11° 50’ 45” | 28.44 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 07 | 17h 50m 49s | +11° 50’ 26” | 28.44 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 08 | 17h 51m 06s | +11° 50’ 11” | 28.43 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 09 | 17h 51m 21s | +11° 49’ 56” | 28.43 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 10 | 17h 51m 38s | +11° 49’ 45” | 28.43 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 11 | 17h 51m 53s | +11° 49’ 36” | 28.43 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 12 | 17h 52m 09s | +11° 49’ 28” | 28.42 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 13 | 17h 52m 26s | +11° 49’ 23” | 28.42 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 14 | 17h 52m 41s | +11° 49’ 22” | 28.42 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 15 | 17h 52m 59s | +11° 49’ 20” | 28.42 | Ophiucus |
| 2018 Dec 16 | 17h 53m 14s | +11° 49’ 23” | 28.41 | Ophiucus |
Distance of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 12P/Pons-Brooks is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, 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 12P/Pons-Brooks Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2435000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.95481239 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 74.17689423° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.77366709 AU 115,738,949 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
33.46877940 AU 5,006,858,143 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
17.12122324 AU 2,561,298,546 km |
| Orbital period | period |
70.8500 years 25,876.2067 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1954-May-22 21:08:25 2,434,885.3809 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Mar-27 02:06 2,460,761.5876 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 199.0284685654° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 255.8911443583° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 1.601583044411° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.01391239°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2024-Jun-02 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.54560177 AU 231,218,735 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.