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Comets » 

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy

Below the horizon.  Rise: 9:09 | Tran: 15:50 | Set: 22:32
Alt: -24.29°   Az: 325.71°   Direction: North-West

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 775,033,419.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 01h 18m 16s and the Declination is +08° 27’ 36” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is 22.06 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in Pisces on February, 11 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in Pisces on February, 11 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

135P/Shoemaker-Levy
RA: 01h 16m 57s
Dec: +08° 19’ 42”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

01h 18m 16s
+08° 27’ 36”
09h 54m 54s
11h 13m 11s

J2000

01h 16m 57s
+08° 19’ 42”

Additional Information

Pisces
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.06

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 135P/Shoemaker-Levy from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 81.5°
Max altitude: 47.0°
Azimuth: 278.5°
  • 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 135P/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 135P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth is currently 775,033,419.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.1807784120 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43m 5.233s to travel from Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy and arrive to us.

775,033,419.0
5.1807784120
43m 5.233s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 135P/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 135P/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 135P/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 135P/Shoemaker-Levy to Earth happens on Sat May 28 2022 at a distance of 1.686005 Astronomical Units, or 252,222,725 kilometers:

Sat May 28 2022
252,222,725
1.686005

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 135P/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 135P/Shoemaker-Levy as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy at epoch 20 February 1997 00:00 UTC (JD: 2450500.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.29022851
Orbit inclination i 6.05058101°
Perihelion distance q 2.71688981 AU
406,440,931 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.93878488 AU
738,831,704 km
Semi-major axis a 3.82783735 AU
572,636,317 km
Orbital period period 7.4893 years
2,735.4491 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 1999-Dec-10 12:02:32
2,451,523.0018 JD
Next perihelion transit 2007-Jun-06 22:49
2,454,258.4509 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 22.698035116379°
Longitude of the ascending node node 213.3619815558°
Mean anomaly M 225.43319857078°
Mean motion n 0.13160545°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy
View Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 135P/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 Feb 04 01h 13m 45s +08° 04’ 19” 22.01 Pisces
2025 Feb 05 01h 14m 22s +08° 07’ 29” 22.02 Pisces
2025 Feb 06 01h 14m 59s +08° 10’ 41” 22.02 Pisces
2025 Feb 07 01h 15m 37s +08° 13’ 56” 22.03 Pisces
2025 Feb 08 01h 16m 15s +08° 17’ 13” 22.04 Pisces
2025 Feb 09 01h 16m 54s +08° 20’ 34” 22.05 Pisces
2025 Feb 10 01h 17m 33s +08° 23’ 56” 22.06 Pisces
2025 Feb 11 01h 18m 13s +08° 27’ 21” 22.06 Pisces
2025 Feb 12 01h 18m 53s +08° 30’ 49” 22.07 Pisces
2025 Feb 13 01h 19m 33s +08° 34’ 19” 22.08 Pisces
2025 Feb 14 01h 20m 14s +08° 37’ 51” 22.09 Pisces
2025 Feb 15 01h 20m 55s +08° 41’ 26” 22.10 Pisces
2025 Feb 16 01h 21m 37s +08° 45’ 02” 22.10 Pisces
2025 Feb 17 01h 22m 19s +08° 48’ 41” 22.11 Pisces

Additional Resources