Comet 15P/Finlay
Comet 15P/Finlay Position
Comet 15P/Finlay is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension is 14h 27m 47s and the Declination is -17° 39’ 28”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 15P/Finlay is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 15P/Finlay is right now (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
The distance of Comet 15P/Finlay from Earth is currently 517,567,787 kilometers, equivalent to 3.459727 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28 minutes and 46.4203 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 Wed Oct 27 2060 at a distance of 0.04931677 Astronomical Units, or 7,377,684 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 25.11.
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 23 April 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456406.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.72046703 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.80365595° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.97465031 AU 145,805,612 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.99876912 AU 897,403,089 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.48670972 AU 521,604,350 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5100 years 2,378.0562 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Dec-26 22:25:48 2,457,018.4346 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Jun-30 23:46 2,459,396.4908 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 347.5656143943° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 13.800639673911° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 267.36280705588° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15138414°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Mar 22 | 14h 31m 55s | -17° 50’ 45” | 25.25 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 23 | 14h 31m 26s | -17° 49’ 32” | 25.23 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 24 | 14h 30m 55s | -17° 48’ 12” | 25.21 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 25 | 14h 30m 23s | -17° 46’ 49” | 25.20 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 26 | 14h 29m 49s | -17° 45’ 20” | 25.18 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 27 | 14h 29m 16s | -17° 43’ 46” | 25.16 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 28 | 14h 28m 41s | -17° 42’ 07” | 25.14 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 29 | 14h 28m 05s | -17° 40’ 24” | 25.12 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 30 | 14h 27m 29s | -17° 38’ 35” | 25.10 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 31 | 14h 26m 52s | -17° 36’ 42” | 25.09 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 01 | 14h 26m 13s | -17° 34’ 45” | 25.07 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 14h 25m 35s | -17° 32’ 42” | 25.05 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 14h 24m 55s | -17° 30’ 34” | 25.03 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 04 | 14h 24m 15s | -17° 28’ 22” | 25.02 | Libra |