Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8

Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is currently in the constellation of Capricornus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is 20h 26m 29s and the Declination is -14° 25’ 50” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8 is 18.49 (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 614,262,702 kilometers, equivalent to 4.106093 Astronomical Units. Light takes 34 minutes and 8.9598 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 18.49.

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
2023 Jan 24	20h 15m 23s	-15° 04’ 37”	18.44	Capricornus
2023 Jan 25	20h 16m 56s	-14° 59’ 21”	18.45	Capricornus
2023 Jan 26	20h 18m 29s	-14° 54’ 02”	18.46	Capricornus
2023 Jan 27	20h 20m 03s	-14° 48’ 38”	18.46	Capricornus
2023 Jan 28	20h 21m 37s	-14° 43’ 13”	18.47	Capricornus
2023 Jan 29	20h 23m 09s	-14° 37’ 44”	18.48	Capricornus
2023 Jan 30	20h 24m 42s	-14° 32’ 12”	18.49	Capricornus
2023 Jan 31	20h 26m 16s	-14° 26’ 36”	18.49	Capricornus
2023 Feb 01	20h 27m 47s	-14° 20’ 59”	18.50	Capricornus
2023 Feb 02	20h 29m 20s	-14° 15’ 20”	18.51	Capricornus
2023 Feb 03	20h 30m 51s	-14° 09’ 36”	18.51	Capricornus
2023 Feb 04	20h 32m 23s	-14° 03’ 51”	18.52	Capricornus
2023 Feb 05	20h 33m 55s	-13° 58’ 01”	18.52	Capricornus
2023 Feb 06	20h 35m 26s	-13° 52’ 10”	18.53	Capricornus