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public  Matazu, Nigeria Matazu, Nigeria  ⓘ
TimezoneAfrica/Lagos
Sunrise: 6:09 
Transit: 12:33 
Sunset: 18:57
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Comets » 

Comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR

Above the horizon.  Rise: 7:47 | Tran: 14:23 | Set: 20:58
Alt: 54.87°   Az: 40.67°   Direction: North-East

Comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR is in the constellation of Lynx, at a distance of 641,220,535.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 08h 36m 56s and the Declination is +36° 51’ 35” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 27.00).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR in the constellation of Lynx on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR in the constellation of Lynx on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR
RA: 08h 35m 18s
Dec: +36° 56’ 57”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

08h 36m 56s
+36° 51’ 35”
22h 08m 10s
06h 45m 07s

J2000

08h 35m 18s
+36° 56’ 57”

Additional Information

Lynx
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
27.00

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR from Matazu, Nigeria (all times relative to the local timezone Africa/Lagos):

Azimuth: 53.1°
Max altitude: 65.4°
Azimuth: 306.8°

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 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR from Earth is currently 641,220,535.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.2862945308 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35m 38.881s to travel from comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR and arrive to us.

641,220,535.0
4.2862945308
35m 38.881s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR to Earth will happen on Tuesday 21 October 2081 at a distance of 0.563913 Astronomical Units, or 84,360,181 kilometers:

Tuesday 21 October 2081
84,360,181
0.563913

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR at epoch March, 27 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459666.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64732474
Orbit inclination i 23.10862637°
Perihelion distance q 1.42160367 AU
212,668,883 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.64022452 AU
993,363,452 km
Semi-major axis a 4.03091410 AU
603,016,167 km
Orbital period period 8.0931 years
2,955.9953 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp August 5, 2024
2,460,527.8746 JD
Next perihelion transit September 8, 2032
2,463,483.8699 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 316.98900191297°
Longitude of the ascending node node 53.38016623504°
Mean anomaly M 255.09629976837°
Mean motion n 0.12178639°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 146P/Shoemaker-LINEAR 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
Jun 25 2025 08h 25m 17s +37° 31’ 02” 26.82 Lynx
Jun 26 2025 08h 26m 51s +37° 25’ 48” 26.84 Lynx
Jun 27 2025 08h 28m 25s +37° 20’ 32” 26.87 Lynx
Jun 28 2025 08h 29m 59s +37° 15’ 17” 26.89 Lynx
Jun 29 2025 08h 31m 32s +37° 10’ 00” 26.91 Lynx
Jun 30 2025 08h 33m 05s +37° 04’ 43” 26.94 Lynx
Jul 01 2025 08h 34m 39s +36° 59’ 25” 26.96 Lynx
Jul 02 2025 08h 36m 12s +36° 54’ 08” 26.99 Lynx
Jul 03 2025 08h 37m 44s +36° 48’ 49” 27.01 Lynx
Jul 04 2025 08h 39m 17s +36° 43’ 30” 27.03 Lynx
Jul 05 2025 08h 40m 48s +36° 38’ 12” 27.06 Lynx
Jul 06 2025 08h 42m 20s +36° 32’ 52” 27.08 Lynx
Jul 07 2025 08h 43m 52s +36° 27’ 31” 27.10 Lynx
Jul 08 2025 08h 45m 24s +36° 22’ 12” 27.12 Lynx

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