Comet 17P/Holmes
Comet 17P/Holmes is currently in the constellation of Cancer. The current Right Ascension of Comet 17P/Holmes is 09h 07m 04s and the Declination is +22° 30’ 43” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 17P/Holmes is 21.65 (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 below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- 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
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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 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 522,435,251 kilometers, equivalent to 3.492264 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29 minutes and 2.6564 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 1.145989 Astronomical Units, or 171,437,521 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 21.65.
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 10 October 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457672.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.43018644 |
Orbit inclination | i | 19.07101452° |
Perihelion distance | q | 2.06617251 AU 309,095,009 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
5.18592766 AU 775,803,737 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
3.62605009 AU 542,449,373 km |
Orbital period | period |
6.9049 years 2,522.0235 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Mar-26 18:04:09 2,456,743.2529 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2021-Feb-19 18:37 2,459,265.2764 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 24.737388006638° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 326.77392423836° |
Mean anomaly | M | 132.64307906398° |
Mean motion | n | 0.14274253°/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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Jan 30 | 09h 13m 01s | +22° 21’ 47” | 21.61 | Cancer |
2023 Jan 31 | 09h 12m 14s | +22° 23’ 08” | 21.61 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 01 | 09h 11m 26s | +22° 24’ 28” | 21.62 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 02 | 09h 10m 36s | +22° 25’ 44” | 21.62 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 03 | 09h 09m 48s | +22° 26’ 57” | 21.63 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 04 | 09h 09m 01s | +22° 28’ 06” | 21.63 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 05 | 09h 08m 12s | +22° 29’ 15” | 21.64 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 06 | 09h 07m 24s | +22° 30’ 20” | 21.65 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 07 | 09h 06m 37s | +22° 31’ 21” | 21.65 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 08 | 09h 05m 48s | +22° 32’ 20” | 21.66 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 09 | 09h 05m 02s | +22° 33’ 15” | 21.66 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 10 | 09h 04m 14s | +22° 34’ 06” | 21.67 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 11 | 09h 03m 26s | +22° 34’ 54” | 21.68 | Cancer |
2023 Feb 12 | 09h 02m 40s | +22° 35’ 40” | 21.68 | Cancer |