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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:38  
clear_day Transit: 11:46  
SunsetSet: 15:54 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 13P/Olbers

Altitude: 1.2°   Azimuth: 126.8°   Direction: South-East

Comet 13P/Olbers is currently in the constellation of Eridanus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 13P/Olbers is 03h 38m 58s and the Declination is -20° 53’ 42” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 13P/Olbers is 14.06 (JPL).

03h 38m 58s
-20° 53’ 42”
Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
14.06

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 13P/Olbers from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 110.9°
Max altitude: 17.6°
Azimuth: 249.1°
  • 13P/Olbers is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 1° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 13P/Olbers is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 14 inches (350mm) or more.
  • 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.

Available Resources

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.

Finder chart of 13P/Olbers in Eridanus on November,29 2023
Map showing Comet 13P/Olbers in Eridanus on November, 29 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 13P/Olbers
Map showing Comet 13P/Olbers in Eridanus on November, 29 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

13P/Olbers
RA: 03h 38m 58s
Dec: -20° 53’ 42”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 13P/Olbers
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 339,201,762 kilometers, equivalent to 2.267424 Astronomical Units. Light takes 18 minutes and 51.4553 seconds to travel from Comet 13P/Olbers and arrive to us.

339,201,762
2.267424
18 minutes and 51.4553 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 13P/Olbers 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 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 13P/Olbers to Earth happens on Sun Jan 10 2094 at a distance of 0.756495 Astronomical Units, or 113,170,038 kilometers:

Sun Jan 10 2094
113,170,038
0.756495

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

Comet 13P/Olbers Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 13P/Olbers as a function of time

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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 13P/Olbers
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
2023 Nov 22 03h 48m 47s -21° 19’ 41” 14.28 Eridanus
2023 Nov 23 03h 47m 34s -21° 17’ 31” 14.26 Eridanus
2023 Nov 24 03h 46m 18s -21° 15’ 02” 14.23 Eridanus
2023 Nov 25 03h 45m 02s -21° 12’ 11” 14.20 Eridanus
2023 Nov 26 03h 43m 47s -21° 08’ 58” 14.17 Eridanus
2023 Nov 27 03h 42m 32s -21° 05’ 26” 14.14 Eridanus
2023 Nov 28 03h 41m 16s -21° 01’ 32” 14.11 Eridanus
2023 Nov 29 03h 39m 59s -20° 57’ 17” 14.08 Eridanus
2023 Nov 30 03h 38m 43s -20° 52’ 41” 14.06 Eridanus
2023 Dec 01 03h 37m 27s -20° 47’ 43” 14.03 Eridanus
2023 Dec 02 03h 36m 10s -20° 42’ 23” 14.00 Eridanus
2023 Dec 03 03h 34m 54s -20° 36’ 42” 13.97 Eridanus
2023 Dec 04 03h 33m 38s -20° 30’ 38” 13.94 Eridanus
2023 Dec 05 03h 32m 21s -20° 24’ 12” 13.92 Eridanus