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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: 7:48  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 144P/Kushida

Altitude: 38.0°   Azimuth: 114.6°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 144P/Kushida is currently in the constellation of Aries.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 144P/Kushida is 02h 47m 53s and the Declination is +16° 06’ 58” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 144P/Kushida is 13.94 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 14.9 (COBS).

02h 47m 53s
+16° 06’ 58”
Aries
14.9
0.5'
n/a
2023-12-05
13.94

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 144P/Kushida from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 73.9°
Max altitude: 54.6°
Azimuth: 286.2°
  • 144P/Kushida is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 38° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 144P/Kushida is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 20 inches (500mm) 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 144P/Kushida Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 144P/Kushida 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 144P/Kushida in Aries on December,06 2023
Map showing Comet 144P/Kushida in Aries on December, 06 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 144P/Kushida
Map showing Comet 144P/Kushida in Aries on December, 06 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 144P/Kushida is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

144P/Kushida
RA: 02h 47m 53s
Dec: +16° 06’ 58”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 144P/Kushida
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 144P/Kushida?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 144P/Kushida in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 144P/Kushida Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 144P/Kushida from Earth is currently 85,848,761 kilometers, equivalent to 0.573864 Astronomical Units. Light takes 4 minutes and 46.3606 seconds to travel from Comet 144P/Kushida and arrive to us.

85,848,761
0.573864
4 minutes and 46.3606 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 144P/Kushida 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 144P/Kushida 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 144P/Kushida from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 144P/Kushida to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 144P/Kushida to Earth happens on Tue Dec 20 2067 at a distance of 0.486109 Astronomical Units, or 72,720,828 kilometers:

Tue Dec 20 2067
72,720,828
0.486109

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

Comet 144P/Kushida Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 144P/Kushida, 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 144P/Kushida as a function of time

Comet 144P/Kushida Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 144P/Kushida at epoch 15 April 2009 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454937.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.62781794
Orbit inclination i 4.10912030°
Perihelion distance q 1.43898874 AU
215,269,652 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.29372545 AU
941,527,928 km
Semi-major axis a 3.86635710 AU
578,398,790 km
Orbital period period 7.6026 years
2,776.8433 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2009-Jan-26 20:32:03
2,454,858.3556 JD
Next perihelion transit 2016-Sep-03 16:46
2,457,635.1989 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 216.09503196056°
Longitude of the ascending node node 245.55923865121°
Mean anomaly M 10.260566098428°
Mean motion n 0.12964361°/day

Visualization of Comet 144P/Kushida Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 144P/Kushida with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 144P/Kushida 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 144P/Kushida
View Comet 144P/Kushida in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 144P/Kushida 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 144P/Kushida computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 144P/Kushida in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 29 02h 48m 37s +17° 06’ 47” 14.08 Aries
2023 Nov 30 02h 48m 24s +16° 58’ 45” 14.06 Aries
2023 Dec 01 02h 48m 12s +16° 50’ 48” 14.04 Aries
2023 Dec 02 02h 48m 05s +16° 42’ 56” 14.02 Aries
2023 Dec 03 02h 47m 57s +16° 35’ 11” 14.00 Aries
2023 Dec 04 02h 47m 53s +16° 27’ 33” 13.99 Aries
2023 Dec 05 02h 47m 50s +16° 20’ 03” 13.97 Aries
2023 Dec 06 02h 47m 50s +16° 12’ 42” 13.95 Aries
2023 Dec 07 02h 47m 53s +16° 05’ 30” 13.94 Aries
2023 Dec 08 02h 47m 58s +15° 58’ 29” 13.92 Aries
2023 Dec 09 02h 48m 06s +15° 51’ 39” 13.91 Aries
2023 Dec 10 02h 48m 18s +15° 45’ 02” 13.90 Aries
2023 Dec 11 02h 48m 32s +15° 38’ 36” 13.89 Aries
2023 Dec 12 02h 48m 47s +15° 32’ 25” 13.87 Aries