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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:41  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:26
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 15P/Finlay

Altitude: -24.7°   Azimuth: 40.4°   Direction: North-East

Comet 15P/Finlay is currently in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 738,561,267 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 15P/Finlay in Leo on March,29 2024
Map showing Comet 15P/Finlay in Leo on March, 29 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 15P/Finlay is 11h 31m 54s and the Declination is +06° 00’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 15P/Finlay is 24.83 (JPL).

11h 31m 54s
+06° 00’ 14”
Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.83

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 15P/Finlay from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 84.0°
Max altitude: 44.5°
Azimuth: 276.0°
  • 15P/Finlay is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 15P/Finlay 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 15P/Finlay Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 15P/Finlay
Map showing Comet 15P/Finlay in Leo on March, 29 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 15P/Finlay is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

15P/Finlay
RA: 11h 31m 54s
Dec: +06° 00’ 14”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 15P/Finlay
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 15P/Finlay?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 15P/Finlay in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 15P/Finlay Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 15P/Finlay from Earth is currently 738,561,267 kilometers, equivalent to 4.936977 Astronomical Units. Light takes 41 minutes and 3.5752 seconds to travel from Comet 15P/Finlay and arrive to us.

738,561,267
4.936977
41 minutes and 3.5752 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 15P/Finlay 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 15P/Finlay 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 15P/Finlay from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 15P/Finlay to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 15P/Finlay to Earth happens on Sat Oct 23 2060 at a distance of 0.033494 Astronomical Units, or 5,010,576 kilometers:

Sat Oct 23 2060
5,010,576
0.033494

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

Comet 15P/Finlay Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 15P/Finlay, 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 15P/Finlay as a function of time

Comet 15P/Finlay Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 15P/Finlay at epoch 31 October 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457327.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.72018544
Orbit inclination i 6.80048064°
Perihelion distance q 0.97668698 AU
146,110,293 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.00427188 AU
898,226,290 km
Semi-major axis a 3.49047943 AU
522,168,292 km
Orbital period period 6.5213 years
2,381.9139 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Dec-27 01:44:35
2,457,018.5726 JD
Next perihelion transit 2021-Jul-04 23:40
2,459,400.4865 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 347.62574901383°
Longitude of the ascending node node 13.75387564025°
Mean anomaly M 46.690962220838°
Mean motion n 0.15113897°/day

Visualization of Comet 15P/Finlay Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 15P/Finlay with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 15P/Finlay 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 15P/Finlay
View Comet 15P/Finlay in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 15P/Finlay 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 15P/Finlay computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 15P/Finlay in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 22 11h 36m 11s +05° 36’ 06” 24.80 Leo
2024 Mar 23 11h 35m 36s +05° 39’ 24” 24.80 Leo
2024 Mar 24 11h 35m 03s +05° 42’ 41” 24.81 Leo
2024 Mar 25 11h 34m 27s +05° 45’ 56” 24.81 Leo
2024 Mar 26 11h 33m 53s +05° 49’ 09” 24.81 Leo
2024 Mar 27 11h 33m 20s +05° 52’ 18” 24.82 Leo
2024 Mar 28 11h 32m 45s +05° 55’ 27” 24.82 Leo
2024 Mar 29 11h 32m 12s +05° 58’ 32” 24.82 Leo
2024 Mar 30 11h 31m 38s +06° 01’ 36” 24.83 Leo
2024 Mar 31 11h 31m 06s +06° 04’ 36” 24.83 Leo
2024 Apr 01 11h 30m 33s +06° 07’ 35” 24.83 Leo
2024 Apr 02 11h 30m 02s +06° 10’ 29” 24.84 Leo
2024 Apr 03 11h 29m 30s +06° 13’ 22” 24.84 Leo
2024 Apr 04 11h 28m 58s +06° 16’ 11” 24.84 Leo