Comet 15P/Finlay
Comet 15P/Finlay Position
Comet 15P/Finlay is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension is 12h 33m 48s and the Declination is -04° 24’ 06”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 15P/Finlay is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Hihgher 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 835,858,044 kilometers, equivalent to 5.587366 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46 minutes and 28.1223 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 0.04931676 Astronomical Units, or 7,377,683 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 27.85.
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 behvior 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, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Jul 15 | 12h 31m 24s | -04° 07’ 17” | 27.84 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 16 | 12h 31m 42s | -04° 09’ 19” | 27.84 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 17 | 12h 31m 59s | -04° 11’ 25” | 27.84 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 18 | 12h 32m 17s | -04° 13’ 35” | 27.84 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 19 | 12h 32m 36s | -04° 15’ 47” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 20 | 12h 32m 57s | -04° 18’ 03” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 21 | 12h 33m 15s | -04° 20’ 23” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 22 | 12h 33m 37s | -04° 22’ 46” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 23 | 12h 33m 57s | -04° 25’ 13” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 24 | 12h 34m 18s | -04° 27’ 42” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 25 | 12h 34m 41s | -04° 30’ 15” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 26 | 12h 35m 03s | -04° 32’ 51” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 27 | 12h 35m 26s | -04° 35’ 30” | 27.85 | Virgo |
| 2019 Jul 28 | 12h 35m 49s | -04° 38’ 12” | 27.85 | Virgo |