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Sunrise: 4:59 
Transit: 12:56 
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Comets » 

Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang

Above the horizon.  Rise: 2:35 | Tran: 5:07 | Set: 7:38
Alt: 0.05°   Az: 211.45°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 6,036,073,641.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 20h 07m 17s and the Declination is -32° 02’ 49” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang is 36.21 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in Sagittarius on May, 22 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in Sagittarius on May, 22 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

153P/Ikeya-Zhang
RA: 20h 05m 40s
Dec: -32° 07’ 16”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

20h 07m 17s
-32° 02’ 49”
02h 31m 57s
22h 39m 14s

J2000

20h 05m 40s
-32° 07’ 16”

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 122.0°
Max altitude: 6.5°
Azimuth: 238.0°
  • 153P/Ikeya-Zhang is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 0.05° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang from Earth is currently 6,036,073,641.0 kilometers, equivalent to 40.3486601297 Astronomical Units. Light takes 5h 35m 34.174s to travel from Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang and arrive to us.

6,036,073,641.0
40.3486601297
5h 35m 34.174s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang 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 153P/Ikeya-Zhang from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang to Earth happens on Tue Apr 30 2002 at a distance of 0.404460 Astronomical Units, or 60,506,399 kilometers:

Tue Apr 30 2002
60,506,399
0.404460

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

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang at epoch 07 May 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 2002-Mar-18 23:31:25
2,452,352.4802 JD
Next perihelion transit 2367-Sep-20 09:05
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
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang
View Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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
2025 May 15 20h 07m 38s -31° 59’ 50” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 16 20h 07m 36s -32° 00’ 14” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 17 20h 07m 33s -32° 00’ 38” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 18 20h 07m 30s -32° 01’ 03” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 19 20h 07m 27s -32° 01’ 28” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 20 20h 07m 24s -32° 01’ 52” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 21 20h 07m 21s -32° 02’ 17” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 22 20h 07m 18s -32° 02’ 42” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 23 20h 07m 14s -32° 03’ 07” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 24 20h 07m 11s -32° 03’ 32” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 25 20h 07m 07s -32° 03’ 57” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 26 20h 07m 04s -32° 04’ 22” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 27 20h 07m 00s -32° 04’ 47” 36.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 28 20h 06m 56s -32° 05’ 14” 36.21 Sagittarius

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