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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu

Altitude: 8.4°   Azimuth: 105.5°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu is currently in the constellation of Virgo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu is 12h 30m 48s and the Declination is -02° 53’ 40” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu is 29.63 (JPL).

12h 30m 48s
-02° 53’ 40”
Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29.63

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 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 92.9°
Max altitude: 35.6°
Azimuth: 267.1°
  • 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 8° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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.

Available Resources

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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.

Finder chart of 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Virgo on December,01 2023
Map showing Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Virgo on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu
Map showing Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in Virgo on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

132P/Helin-Roman-Alu
RA: 12h 30m 48s
Dec: -02° 53’ 40”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Earth is currently 824,378,447 kilometers, equivalent to 5.510630 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 49.8305 seconds to travel from Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu and arrive to us.

824,378,447
5.510630
45 minutes and 49.8305 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu to Earth happens on Sun Oct 10 2021 at a distance of 0.737152 Astronomical Units, or 110,276,378 kilometers:

Sun Oct 10 2021
110,276,378
0.737152

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

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu, 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 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu as a function of time

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu at epoch 03 October 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459491.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.56469630
Orbit inclination i 5.38251546°
Perihelion distance q 1.69177456 AU
253,085,873 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.08107262 AU
909,715,517 km
Semi-major axis a 3.88642359 AU
581,400,695 km
Orbital period period 7.6618 years
2,798.4891 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Nov-13 02:33:18
2,459,531.6065 JD
Next perihelion transit 2029-Jul-12 14:17
2,462,330.0956 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 216.34551833376°
Longitude of the ascending node node 173.99657171174°
Mean anomaly M 354.84067017867°
Mean motion n 0.12864084°/day

Visualization of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu
View Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 24 12h 26m 53s -02° 31’ 19” 29.62 Virgo
2023 Nov 25 12h 27m 26s -02° 34’ 37” 29.62 Virgo
2023 Nov 26 12h 28m 00s -02° 37’ 51” 29.62 Virgo
2023 Nov 27 12h 28m 35s -02° 41’ 03” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Nov 28 12h 29m 08s -02° 44’ 11” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Nov 29 12h 29m 39s -02° 47’ 17” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Nov 30 12h 30m 12s -02° 50’ 18” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Dec 01 12h 30m 43s -02° 53’ 17” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Dec 02 12h 31m 15s -02° 56’ 12” 29.63 Virgo
2023 Dec 03 12h 31m 45s -02° 59’ 05” 29.64 Virgo
2023 Dec 04 12h 32m 17s -03° 01’ 54” 29.64 Virgo
2023 Dec 05 12h 32m 47s -03° 04’ 41” 29.64 Virgo
2023 Dec 06 12h 33m 15s -03° 07’ 23” 29.64 Virgo
2023 Dec 07 12h 33m 44s -03° 10’ 01” 29.64 Virgo