Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is 16h 25m 10s and the Declination is -15° 43’ 32” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is 16.42 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:

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Additional information about Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 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 8 with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 from Earth is currently 353,182,315 kilometers, equivalent to 2.360878 Astronomical Units. Light takes 19 minutes and 38.0894 seconds to travel from Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 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 8 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 8 to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 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 8 brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is 16.42.

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 behavior 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.

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8, 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 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 rise and set times

Today's Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.

Visualization of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 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 8 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 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 8 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2022 Aug 09	16h 20m 13s	-15° 25’ 14”	16.29	Scorpius
2022 Aug 10	16h 20m 48s	-15° 27’ 30”	16.31	Scorpius
2022 Aug 11	16h 21m 25s	-15° 29’ 51”	16.32	Scorpius
2022 Aug 12	16h 22m 04s	-15° 32’ 12”	16.34	Scorpius
2022 Aug 13	16h 22m 42s	-15° 34’ 37”	16.36	Scorpius
2022 Aug 14	16h 23m 22s	-15° 37’ 05”	16.37	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 15	16h 24m 03s	-15° 39’ 34”	16.39	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 16	16h 24m 47s	-15° 42’ 06”	16.41	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 17	16h 25m 30s	-15° 44’ 40”	16.42	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 18	16h 26m 14s	-15° 47’ 16”	16.44	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 19	16h 27m 01s	-15° 49’ 54”	16.46	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 20	16h 27m 47s	-15° 52’ 32”	16.47	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 21	16h 28m 35s	-15° 55’ 14”	16.49	Ophiucus
2022 Aug 22	16h 29m 23s	-15° 57’ 56”	16.51	Ophiucus