Comet 17P/Holmes

Comet 17P/Holmes is currently in the constellation of Cancer. The current Right Ascension of Comet 17P/Holmes is 09h 01m 35s and the Declination is +18° 11’ 40” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 17P/Holmes is 22.99 (JPL).

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted 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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 17P/Holmes from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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.

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 17P/Holmes?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 17P/Holmes from Earth?)
• When does Comet 17P/Holmes rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 17P/Holmes?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 17P/Holmes orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 17P/Holmes with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 17P/Holmes for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 17P/Holmes in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 17P/Holmes with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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 785,838,509 kilometers, equivalent to 5.253006 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43 minutes and 41.2751 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 17P/Holmes to Earth happens on Thu Aug 20 2048 at a distance of 1.146027 Astronomical Units, or 171,443,241 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet 17P/Holmes Brightness and Light Curve

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.

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!

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
2023 Jun 01	08h 57m 05s	+18° 41’ 49”	22.93	Cancer
2023 Jun 02	08h 57m 42s	+18° 37’ 40”	22.94	Cancer
2023 Jun 03	08h 58m 18s	+18° 33’ 29”	22.95	Cancer
2023 Jun 04	08h 58m 56s	+18° 29’ 16”	22.96	Cancer
2023 Jun 05	08h 59m 35s	+18° 25’ 00”	22.97	Cancer
2023 Jun 06	09h 00m 12s	+18° 20’ 44”	22.97	Cancer
2023 Jun 07	09h 00m 51s	+18° 16’ 27”	22.98	Cancer
2023 Jun 08	09h 01m 31s	+18° 12’ 09”	22.99	Cancer
2023 Jun 09	09h 02m 11s	+18° 07’ 47”	23.00	Cancer
2023 Jun 10	09h 02m 50s	+18° 03’ 25”	23.01	Cancer
2023 Jun 11	09h 03m 30s	+17° 59’ 03”	23.02	Cancer
2023 Jun 12	09h 04m 12s	+17° 54’ 38”	23.03	Cancer
2023 Jun 13	09h 04m 51s	+17° 50’ 11”	23.04	Cancer
2023 Jun 14	09h 05m 34s	+17° 45’ 43”	23.05	Cancer