Comet 13P/Olbers
Comet 13P/Olbers is currently in the constellation of Sculptor. The current Right Ascension of Comet 13P/Olbers is 01h 33m 59s and the Declination is -35° 29’ 29” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 13P/Olbers is 23.64 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 13P/Olbers [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]:
- 13P/Olbers is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 13P/Olbers is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 13P/Olbers rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet 13P/Olbers available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 13P/Olbers Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 13P/Olbers 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 13P/Olbers is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 13P/Olbers?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 13P/Olbers in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 13P/Olbers Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 13P/Olbers from Earth is currently 1,314,084,734 kilometers, equivalent to 8.784114 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 13 minutes and 3.3149 seconds to travel from Comet 13P/Olbers and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 13P/Olbers 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 13P/Olbers from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 13P/Olbers to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 13P/Olbers to Earth happens on Sun Jan 10 2094 at a distance of 0.756496 Astronomical Units, or 113,170,181 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 13P/Olbers brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 13P/Olbers is 23.64.
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 13P/Olbers, 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 13P/Olbers rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 13P/Olbers 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 13P/Olbers 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.
Comet 13P/Olbers Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 13P/Olbers at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2435760.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.93029715 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 44.60988573° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.17845061 AU 176,293,703 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
32.63510426 AU 4,882,142,116 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
16.90677743 AU 2,529,217,910 km |
| Orbital period | period |
69.5183 years 25,391.5773 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1956-Jun-19 03:14:52 2,435,643.6353 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Dec-25 17:06 2,461,035.2127 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 64.641206516773° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 86.103128354623° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 1.6568990684075° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.01417793°/day |
Visualization of Comet 13P/Olbers Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 13P/Olbers with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 13P/Olbers 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!
View Comet 13P/Olbers in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 13P/Olbers 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 13P/Olbers computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 13P/Olbers in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Jan 17 | 01h 33m 15s | -36° 11’ 45” | 23.67 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 18 | 01h 33m 19s | -36° 06’ 10” | 23.67 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 19 | 01h 33m 24s | -36° 00’ 32” | 23.66 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 20 | 01h 33m 29s | -35° 54’ 53” | 23.66 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 21 | 01h 33m 34s | -35° 49’ 14” | 23.66 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 22 | 01h 33m 42s | -35° 43’ 32” | 23.65 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 23 | 01h 33m 48s | -35° 37’ 51” | 23.65 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 24 | 01h 33m 56s | -35° 32’ 09” | 23.64 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 25 | 01h 34m 04s | -35° 26’ 26” | 23.64 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 26 | 01h 34m 13s | -35° 20’ 43” | 23.64 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 27 | 01h 34m 22s | -35° 14’ 57” | 23.63 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 28 | 01h 34m 31s | -35° 09’ 12” | 23.63 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 29 | 01h 34m 41s | -35° 03’ 28” | 23.62 | Sculptor |
| 2022 Jan 30 | 01h 34m 51s | -34° 57’ 42” | 23.62 | Sculptor |