Comet 17P/Holmes
Comet 17P/Holmes Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 17P/Holmes is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Comet 17P/Holmes Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 17P/Holmes rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Comet 17P/Holmes Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 17P/Holmes with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 17P/Holmes 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 17P/Holmes in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 17P/Holmes Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 17P/Holmes computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 17P/Holmes in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Apr 12 | 20.14 | 11h 34m 27s | -12° 56’ 12” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 13 | 20.14 | 11h 33m 55s | -12° 52’ 45” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 14 | 20.14 | 11h 33m 24s | -12° 49’ 18” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 15 | 20.14 | 11h 32m 52s | -12° 45’ 50” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 16 | 20.14 | 11h 32m 21s | -12° 42’ 21” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 17 | 20.15 | 11h 31m 51s | -12° 38’ 54” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 18 | 20.15 | 11h 31m 22s | -12° 35’ 26” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 19 | 20.15 | 11h 30m 54s | -12° 31’ 59” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 20 | 20.16 | 11h 30m 24s | -12° 28’ 33” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 21 | 20.16 | 11h 29m 57s | -12° 25’ 08” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 22 | 20.16 | 11h 29m 30s | -12° 21’ 43” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 23 | 20.16 | 11h 29m 04s | -12° 18’ 20” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 24 | 20.17 | 11h 28m 38s | -12° 14’ 57” | Crater |
| 2018 Apr 25 | 20.17 | 11h 28m 14s | -12° 11’ 36” | Crater |
Distance of Comet 17P/Holmes from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 17P/Holmes from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 17P/Holmes is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 17P/Holmes
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 17P/Holmes, 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 17P/Holmes Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 17P/Holmes at epoch 16 January 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455213.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.43287584 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.11426464° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.05337899 AU 307,181,125 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.18799469 AU 776,112,960 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.62068684 AU 541,647,043 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.8900 years 2,516.4301 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2007-May-05 00:40:56 2,454,225.5284 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2014-Mar-25 11:00 2,456,741.9585 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 24.351852593229° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 326.85321508915° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 141.33902074188° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14305981°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2048-Aug-20 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.14829316 AU 171,782,212 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.