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Comets » 

Comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR

Above the horizon.  Rise: 17:09 | Tran: 20:32 | Set: 23:55
Alt: 5.63°   Az: 212.21°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 629,605,086.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 04m 11s and the Declination is -26° 35’ 41” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 21.76.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR in the constellation of Libra 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 156P/Russell-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.

156P/Russell-LINEAR
RA: 15h 02m 41s
Dec: -26° 29’ 45”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 04m 11s
-26° 35’ 41”
02h 25m 31s
17h 29m 43s

J2000

15h 02m 41s
-26° 29’ 45”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.76

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 156P/Russell-LINEAR from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.6°
Max altitude: 11.9°
Azimuth: 243.4°

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 156P/Russell-LINEAR from Earth is currently 629,605,086.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.2086500500 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35m 0.137s to travel from comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR and arrive to us.

629,605,086.0
4.2086500500
35m 0.137s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 156P/Russell-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 156P/Russell-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 156P/Russell-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, 2014 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR to Earth will happen on Thursday 29 October 2099 at a distance of 0.380005 Astronomical Units, or 56,847,889 kilometers:

Thursday 29 October 2099
56,847,889
0.380005

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 156P/Russell-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 156P/Russell-LINEAR as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 156P/Russell-LINEAR at epoch March, 27 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458936.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.61490849
Orbit inclination i 17.26328933°
Perihelion distance q 1.33312151 AU
199,432,140 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.59053935 AU
836,332,785 km
Semi-major axis a 3.46183043 AU
517,882,463 km
Orbital period period 6.4412 years
2,352.6489 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp November 17, 2020
2,459,171.3305 JD
Next perihelion transit April 28, 2027
2,461,523.9794 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 0.381717897806°
Longitude of the ascending node node 35.394354727285°
Mean anomaly M 324.06646888291°
Mean motion n 0.15301901°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 156P/Russell-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 156P/Russell-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
Jul 07 2025 15h 06m 17s -26° 47’ 57” 21.74 Libra
Jul 08 2025 15h 05m 58s -26° 46’ 16” 21.74 Libra
Jul 09 2025 15h 05m 39s -26° 44’ 37” 21.74 Libra
Jul 10 2025 15h 05m 22s -26° 43’ 00” 21.75 Libra
Jul 11 2025 15h 05m 06s -26° 41’ 26” 21.75 Libra
Jul 12 2025 15h 04m 51s -26° 39’ 54” 21.75 Libra
Jul 13 2025 15h 04m 36s -26° 38’ 25” 21.75 Libra
Jul 14 2025 15h 04m 23s -26° 36’ 59” 21.76 Libra
Jul 15 2025 15h 04m 10s -26° 35’ 34” 21.76 Libra
Jul 16 2025 15h 03m 59s -26° 34’ 13” 21.76 Libra
Jul 17 2025 15h 03m 48s -26° 32’ 54” 21.77 Hydra
Jul 18 2025 15h 03m 39s -26° 31’ 40” 21.77 Hydra
Jul 19 2025 15h 03m 30s -26° 30’ 27” 21.77 Hydra
Jul 20 2025 15h 03m 23s -26° 29’ 17” 21.77 Hydra

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