Comet 17P/Holmes
Comet 17P/Holmes is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension of Comet 17P/Holmes is 07h 31m 44s and the Declination is +30° 32’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 17P/Holmes is 21.33 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 17P/Holmes [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]:
- 17P/Holmes is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East direction at an altitude of 42° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 17P/Holmes is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 17P/Holmes 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 17P/Holmes available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 17P/Holmes Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 17P/Holmes 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
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 17P/Holmes is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 17P/Holmes?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 17P/Holmes in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 17P/Holmes Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 17P/Holmes from Earth is currently 711,892,854 kilometers, equivalent to 4.758710 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39 minutes and 34.6190 seconds to travel from Comet 17P/Holmes and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 17P/Holmes 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 17P/Holmes from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 17P/Holmes to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 17P/Holmes to Earth happens on Thu Aug 20 2048 at a distance of 1.146004 Astronomical Units, or 171,439,718 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 17P/Holmes brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 17P/Holmes is 21.33.
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 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 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 17P/Holmes 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 17P/Holmes 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 17P/Holmes Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 17P/Holmes at epoch 24 September 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457656.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.43025052 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.07231431° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.06585414 AU 309,047,381 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.18594413 AU 775,806,201 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.62589913 AU 542,426,791 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.9045 years 2,521.8660 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Mar-26 19:36:25 2,456,743.3170 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Feb-19 16:23 2,459,265.1830 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 24.734952577041° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 326.77410164725° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 130.35819238286° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14275144°/day |
Visualization of Comet 17P/Holmes Orbit
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 15 Days 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 | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Jun 25 | 07h 21m 52s | +31° 04’ 47” | 21.26 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 26 | 07h 23m 13s | +31° 00’ 27” | 21.27 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 27 | 07h 24m 34s | +30° 56’ 05” | 21.28 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 28 | 07h 25m 54s | +30° 51’ 43” | 21.29 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 29 | 07h 27m 15s | +30° 47’ 21” | 21.30 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 30 | 07h 28m 35s | +30° 42’ 56” | 21.31 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 01 | 07h 29m 54s | +30° 38’ 31” | 21.32 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 02 | 07h 31m 14s | +30° 34’ 05” | 21.33 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 03 | 07h 32m 35s | +30° 29’ 39” | 21.34 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 04 | 07h 33m 54s | +30° 25’ 12” | 21.35 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 05 | 07h 35m 13s | +30° 20’ 44” | 21.35 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 06 | 07h 36m 33s | +30° 16’ 14” | 21.36 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 07 | 07h 37m 51s | +30° 11’ 44” | 21.37 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jul 08 | 07h 39m 11s | +30° 07’ 14” | 21.38 | Gemini |