Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS is currently in the constellation of Vela. The current Right Ascension of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS is 08h 47m 17s and the Declination is -49° 51’ 29” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS is 28.41 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS [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]:
- 161P/Hartley-IRAS is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 161P/Hartley-IRAS is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 161P/Hartley-IRAS 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS from Earth is currently 1,624,326,183 kilometers, equivalent to 10.857950 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 30 minutes and 18.1689 seconds to travel from Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS to Earth happens on Fri Oct 2 2026 at a distance of 0.505482 Astronomical Units, or 75,618,969 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS is 28.41.
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 161P/Hartley-IRAS, 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS at epoch 03 July 2004 00:00 UTC (JD: 2453190.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.83508810 |
Orbit inclination | i | 95.69805020° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.27482939 AU 190,711,762 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
14.18590285 AU 2,122,180,865 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
7.73036612 AU 1,156,446,313 km |
Orbital period | period |
21.4936 years 7,850.5218 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2005-Jun-20 20:24:46 2,453,542.3505 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2026-Dec-18 08:56 2,461,392.8723 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 47.091452375467° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 1.3981653712267° |
Mean anomaly | M | 343.86525171541° |
Mean motion | n | 0.04585682°/day |
Visualization of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS 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 161P/Hartley-IRAS in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 Aug 09 | 08h 43m 53s | -49° 37’ 44” | 28.42 | Vela |
2022 Aug 10 | 08h 44m 21s | -49° 39’ 20” | 28.42 | Vela |
2022 Aug 11 | 08h 44m 48s | -49° 41’ 00” | 28.42 | Vela |
2022 Aug 12 | 08h 45m 15s | -49° 42’ 46” | 28.42 | Vela |
2022 Aug 13 | 08h 45m 42s | -49° 44’ 35” | 28.41 | Vela |
2022 Aug 14 | 08h 46m 10s | -49° 46’ 28” | 28.41 | Vela |
2022 Aug 15 | 08h 46m 37s | -49° 48’ 28” | 28.41 | Vela |
2022 Aug 16 | 08h 47m 04s | -49° 50’ 30” | 28.41 | Vela |
2022 Aug 17 | 08h 47m 31s | -49° 52’ 37” | 28.41 | Vela |
2022 Aug 18 | 08h 48m 00s | -49° 54’ 48” | 28.40 | Vela |
2022 Aug 19 | 08h 48m 26s | -49° 57’ 06” | 28.40 | Vela |
2022 Aug 20 | 08h 48m 53s | -49° 59’ 26” | 28.40 | Vela |
2022 Aug 21 | 08h 49m 19s | -50° 01’ 50” | 28.40 | Vela |
2022 Aug 22 | 08h 49m 46s | -50° 04’ 19” | 28.40 | Vela |