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Comets » 

Comet 141P/Machholz

Above the horizon.  Rise: 22:23 | Tran: 2:36 | Set: 6:43
Alt: 4.59°   Az: 131.37°   Direction: South-East

Comet 141P/Machholz is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, at a distance of 402,882,315.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 16h 55m 39s and the Declination is -20° 20’ 28” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 141P/Machholz is 24.78 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 141P/Machholz in Ophiuchus on May, 12 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 141P/Machholz in Ophiuchus on May, 12 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 141P/Machholz is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

141P/Machholz
RA: 16h 54m 09s
Dec: -20° 18’ 06”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 141P/Machholz. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 141P/Machholz?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 141P/Machholz in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

16h 55m 39s
-20° 20’ 28”
20h 28m 19s
13h 23m 58s

J2000

16h 54m 09s
-20° 18’ 06”

Additional Information

Ophiuchus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.78

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 141P/Machholz from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 110.3°
Max altitude: 18.1°
Azimuth: 249.6°
  • 141P/Machholz is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 4.59° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 141P/Machholz is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 141P/Machholz from Earth is currently 402,882,315.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.6931019346 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22m 23.871s to travel from Comet 141P/Machholz and arrive to us.

402,882,315.0
2.6931019346
22m 23.871s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 141P/Machholz 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 141P/Machholz 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 141P/Machholz from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 141P/Machholz to Earth happens on Mon Dec 17 2057 at a distance of 0.125073 Astronomical Units, or 18,710,613 kilometers:

Mon Dec 17 2057
18,710,613
0.125073

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 141P/Machholz, 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 141P/Machholz as a function of time

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 141P/Machholz computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 May 05 17h 01m 50s -20° 46’ 07” 24.89 Ophiuchus
2025 May 06 17h 01m 07s -20° 43’ 03” 24.87 Ophiuchus
2025 May 07 17h 00m 23s -20° 39’ 56” 24.86 Ophiuchus
2025 May 08 16h 59m 38s -20° 36’ 45” 24.85 Ophiuchus
2025 May 09 16h 58m 51s -20° 33’ 33” 24.83 Ophiuchus
2025 May 10 16h 58m 04s -20° 30’ 17” 24.82 Ophiuchus
2025 May 11 16h 57m 15s -20° 26’ 57” 24.81 Ophiuchus
2025 May 12 16h 56m 26s -20° 23’ 36” 24.79 Ophiuchus
2025 May 13 16h 55m 35s -20° 20’ 11” 24.78 Ophiuchus
2025 May 14 16h 54m 44s -20° 16’ 43” 24.77 Ophiuchus
2025 May 15 16h 53m 51s -20° 13’ 13” 24.75 Ophiuchus
2025 May 16 16h 52m 57s -20° 09’ 40” 24.74 Ophiuchus
2025 May 17 16h 52m 02s -20° 06’ 02” 24.73 Ophiuchus
2025 May 18 16h 51m 07s -20° 02’ 23” 24.72 Ophiuchus

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive