Comet 15P/Finlay
Comet 15P/Finlay is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 15P/Finlay is 10h 57m 23s and the Declination is +12° 15’ 19” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 15P/Finlay is 23.57 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 15P/Finlay [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 15P/Finlay is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West direction at an altitude of 7° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 15P/Finlay is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 15P/Finlay rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 15P/Finlay available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 15P/Finlay Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 15P/Finlay finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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.
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 582,582,553 kilometers, equivalent to 3.894324 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 23.2862 seconds to travel from Comet 15P/Finlay and arrive to us.
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.
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 January 2013 and 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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 15P/Finlay brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 15P/Finlay is 23.57.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
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.
Comet 15P/Finlay rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 15P/Finlay rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 15P/Finlay touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 29 | 11h 01m 47s | +11° 46’ 47” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Jan 30 | 11h 01m 14s | +11° 50’ 34” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Jan 31 | 11h 00m 38s | +11° 54’ 23” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 11h 00m 03s | +11° 58’ 14” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 10h 59m 27s | +12° 02’ 08” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 10h 58m 51s | +12° 06’ 02” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 10h 58m 14s | +12° 10’ 00” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 05 | 10h 57m 37s | +12° 13’ 59” | 23.57 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 06 | 10h 56m 58s | +12° 17’ 58” | 23.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 07 | 10h 56m 20s | +12° 22’ 00” | 23.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 08 | 10h 55m 41s | +12° 26’ 03” | 23.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 09 | 10h 55m 00s | +12° 30’ 06” | 23.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 10 | 10h 54m 20s | +12° 34’ 10” | 23.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Feb 11 | 10h 53m 40s | +12° 38’ 16” | 23.59 | Leo |