Comet 164P/Christensen
Comet 164P/Christensen is currently in the constellation of Scorpius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 164P/Christensen is 16h 05m 34s and the Declination is -16° 14’ 21” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 164P/Christensen is 21.47 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 164P/Christensen [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]:
- 164P/Christensen is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 16° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 164P/Christensen is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 164P/Christensen Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 164P/Christensen?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 164P/Christensen in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 164P/Christensen Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 164P/Christensen from Earth is currently 891,958,451 kilometers, equivalent to 5.962374 Astronomical Units. Light takes 49 minutes and 35.2531 seconds to travel from Comet 164P/Christensen and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 164P/Christensen to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 164P/Christensen to Earth happens on Tue Dec 4 2074 at a distance of 0.812188 Astronomical Units, or 121,501,628 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 164P/Christensen brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 164P/Christensen is 21.47.
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 164P/Christensen, 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 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 164P/Christensen at epoch 10 December 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457002.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.54028603 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 16.26201829° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.68145002 AU 251,541,342 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.63375092 AU 842,797,143 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.65760047 AU 547,169,243 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.9952 years 2,555.0113 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-May-30 21:53:37 2,458,269.4122 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-May-28 22:09 2,460,824.4235 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 326.00391345373° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 88.30743483611° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 181.49260663498° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14089957°/day |
Visualization of Comet 164P/Christensen Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 164P/Christensen with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 164P/Christensen 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 164P/Christensen in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 164P/Christensen 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 164P/Christensen computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 164P/Christensen in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Sep 28 | 16h 01m 14s | -15° 51’ 06” | 21.44 | Libra |
| 2022 Sep 29 | 16h 01m 46s | -15° 54’ 11” | 21.44 | Libra |
| 2022 Sep 30 | 16h 02m 20s | -15° 57’ 16” | 21.45 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 01 | 16h 02m 53s | -16° 00’ 20” | 21.45 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 02 | 16h 03m 29s | -16° 03’ 25” | 21.46 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 03 | 16h 04m 04s | -16° 06’ 30” | 21.46 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 04 | 16h 04m 39s | -16° 09’ 36” | 21.46 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 05 | 16h 05m 14s | -16° 12’ 41” | 21.47 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 06 | 16h 05m 51s | -16° 15’ 44” | 21.47 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 07 | 16h 06m 28s | -16° 18’ 50” | 21.47 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 08 | 16h 07m 05s | -16° 21’ 55” | 21.48 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 09 | 16h 07m 41s | -16° 24’ 59” | 21.48 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 10 | 16h 08m 20s | -16° 28’ 04” | 21.48 | Scorpius |
| 2022 Oct 11 | 16h 08m 58s | -16° 31’ 08” | 21.49 | Scorpius |