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public  Yangjiang, China Yangjiang, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:06 
Transit: 12:09 
Sunset: 19:11
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Comets » 

Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang

Above the horizon.  Rise: 20:52 | Tran: 1:20 | Set: 5:48
Alt: 25.91°   Az: 172.76°   Direction: South

Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 5,994,883,633.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 20h 03m 44s and the Declination is -32° 20’ 22” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 36.21).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in the constellation of Sagittarius on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in the constellation of Sagittarius 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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.

153P/Ikeya-Zhang
RA: 20h 02m 07s
Dec: -32° 24’ 43”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

20h 03m 44s
-32° 20’ 22”
23h 29m 10s
19h 32m 54s

J2000

20h 02m 07s
-32° 24’ 43”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
36.21

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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang from Yangjiang, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 122.3°
Max altitude: 26.3°
Azimuth: 237.7°

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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang from Earth is currently 5,994,883,633.0 kilometers, equivalent to 40.0733219326 Astronomical Units. Light takes 5h 33m 16.779s to travel from comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang and arrive to us.

5,994,883,633.0
40.0733219326
5h 33m 16.779s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang to Earth happened on Tuesday 30 April 2002 at a distance of 0.404460 Astronomical Units, or 60,506,399 kilometers:

Tuesday 30 April 2002
60,506,399
0.404460

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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang, 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang at epoch May, 07 2002 00:00 UTC (JD: 2452402.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99008066
Orbit inclination i 28.12095741°
Perihelion distance q 0.50707009 AU
75,856,606 km
Aphelion distance Q 101.73157425 AU
15,218,826,921 km
Semi-major axis a 51.11932217 AU
7,647,341,763 km
Orbital period period 365.4987 years
133,498.3988 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp March 18, 2002
2,452,352.4802 JD
Next perihelion transit September 20, 2367
2,585,850.8789 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 34.668178657425°
Longitude of the ascending node node 93.369456618754°
Mean anomaly M 0.1348865811518°
Mean motion n 0.00269666°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 26 2025 20h 04m 30s -32° 17’ 24” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jun 27 2025 20h 04m 24s -32° 17’ 47” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jun 28 2025 20h 04m 18s -32° 18’ 11” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jun 29 2025 20h 04m 12s -32° 18’ 35” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jun 30 2025 20h 04m 06s -32° 18’ 58” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 01 2025 20h 04m 00s -32° 19’ 21” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 02 2025 20h 03m 54s -32° 19’ 44” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 03 2025 20h 03m 48s -32° 20’ 06” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 04 2025 20h 03m 42s -32° 20’ 29” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 05 2025 20h 03m 36s -32° 20’ 51” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 06 2025 20h 03m 30s -32° 21’ 13” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 07 2025 20h 03m 23s -32° 21’ 34” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 08 2025 20h 03m 17s -32° 21’ 56” 36.21 Sagittarius
Jul 09 2025 20h 03m 10s -32° 22’ 18” 36.22 Sagittarius

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