Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is 22h 22m 11s and the Declination is -05° 41’ 38” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy is 20.11 (JPL).

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

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth?)
• When does Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher 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.

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.

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy from Earth is currently 589,795,955 kilometers, equivalent to 3.942542 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 47.3475 seconds to travel from Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy and arrive to us.

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.

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 of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, 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:

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

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy Brightness and 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.

Visualization of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 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!

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Nov 28	22h 18m 03s	-05° 53’ 40”	20.01	Aquarius
2023 Nov 29	22h 18m 37s	-05° 52’ 14”	20.02	Aquarius
2023 Nov 30	22h 19m 09s	-05° 50’ 41”	20.04	Aquarius
2023 Dec 01	22h 19m 45s	-05° 49’ 04”	20.05	Aquarius
2023 Dec 02	22h 20m 20s	-05° 47’ 21”	20.07	Aquarius
2023 Dec 03	22h 20m 54s	-05° 45’ 34”	20.08	Aquarius
2023 Dec 04	22h 21m 32s	-05° 43’ 42”	20.10	Aquarius
2023 Dec 05	22h 22m 09s	-05° 41’ 45”	20.11	Aquarius
2023 Dec 06	22h 22m 45s	-05° 39’ 43”	20.13	Aquarius
2023 Dec 07	22h 23m 24s	-05° 37’ 36”	20.14	Aquarius
2023 Dec 08	22h 24m 02s	-05° 35’ 26”	20.15	Aquarius
2023 Dec 09	22h 24m 42s	-05° 33’ 09”	20.17	Aquarius
2023 Dec 10	22h 25m 23s	-05° 30’ 47”	20.18	Aquarius
2023 Dec 11	22h 26m 03s	-05° 28’ 23”	20.20	Aquarius