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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:49  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro

Altitude: 12.8°   Azimuth: 152.9°   Direction: South-South-East

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro is 16h 55m 18s and the Declination is -21° 34’ 52” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro is 20.73 (JPL).

16h 55m 18s
-21° 34’ 52”
Ophiucus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.73

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 133P/Elst-Pizarro from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 111.6°
Max altitude: 16.9°
Azimuth: 248.4°
  • 133P/Elst-Pizarro is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 13° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 133P/Elst-Pizarro 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro in Ophiucus on December,07 2023
Map showing Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro in Ophiucus on December, 07 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 133P/Elst-Pizarro
Map showing Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro in Ophiucus on December, 07 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

133P/Elst-Pizarro
RA: 16h 55m 18s
Dec: -21° 34’ 52”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro from Earth is currently 558,012,387 kilometers, equivalent to 3.730082 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 1.3290 seconds to travel from Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro and arrive to us.

558,012,387
3.730082
31 minutes and 1.3290 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro to Earth

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro to Earth happens on Fri Jul 19 2086 at a distance of 1.607973 Astronomical Units, or 240,549,334 kilometers:

Fri Jul 19 2086
240,549,334
1.607973

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

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro, 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro as a function of time

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.15637284
Orbit inclination i 1.38981783°
Perihelion distance q 2.67049635 AU
399,500,568 km
Aphelion distance Q 3.66049080 AU
547,601,631 km
Semi-major axis a 3.16549358 AU
473,551,100 km
Orbital period period 5.6321 years
2,057.1245 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-May-10 04:48:04
2,460,440.7000 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 131.90192411846°
Longitude of the ascending node node 160.09954075742°
Mean anomaly M 282.96430494687°
Mean motion n 0.17500156°/day

Visualization of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro 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 133P/Elst-Pizarro
View Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 30 16h 41m 30s -21° 10’ 54” 20.86 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 01 16h 43m 22s -21° 14’ 22” 20.85 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 02 16h 45m 12s -21° 17’ 47” 20.83 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 03 16h 47m 04s -21° 21’ 06” 20.81 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 04 16h 48m 56s -21° 24’ 20” 20.79 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 05 16h 50m 48s -21° 27’ 30” 20.77 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 06 16h 52m 40s -21° 30’ 36” 20.75 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 07 16h 54m 32s -21° 33’ 37” 20.73 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 08 16h 56m 24s -21° 36’ 32” 20.72 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 09 16h 58m 15s -21° 39’ 23” 20.73 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 10 17h 00m 09s -21° 42’ 09” 20.75 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 11 17h 02m 00s -21° 44’ 49” 20.76 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 12 17h 03m 54s -21° 47’ 26” 20.78 Ophiucus
2023 Dec 13 17h 05m 47s -21° 49’ 55” 20.80 Ophiucus