We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. By using this site you accept our Privacy Policies.
A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
Donate Now! Help keep this site free and ads-free!
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 185P/Petriew

Altitude: -44.4°   Azimuth: 16.8°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet 185P/Petriew is currently in the constellation of Sextans, at a distance of 295,386,443 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 185P/Petriew in Sextans on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 185P/Petriew in Sextans on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 185P/Petriew is 10h 30m 07s and the Declination is -06° 59’ 55” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 185P/Petriew is 19.53 (JPL).

10h 30m 07s
-06° 59’ 55”
Sextans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.53

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 185P/Petriew from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 97.0°
Max altitude: 31.6°
Azimuth: 262.9°
  • 185P/Petriew is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 185P/Petriew is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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 Resources

Comet 185P/Petriew Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 185P/Petriew
Map showing Comet 185P/Petriew in Sextans on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 185P/Petriew is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

185P/Petriew
RA: 10h 30m 07s
Dec: -06° 59’ 55”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 185P/Petriew
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 185P/Petriew?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 185P/Petriew in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 185P/Petriew Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 185P/Petriew from Earth is currently 295,386,443 kilometers, equivalent to 1.974536 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 25.3031 seconds to travel from Comet 185P/Petriew and arrive to us.

295,386,443
1.974536
16 minutes and 25.3031 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 185P/Petriew 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 185P/Petriew from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 185P/Petriew from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 185P/Petriew to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 185P/Petriew to Earth happens on Tue Nov 7 2056 at a distance of 0.281733 Astronomical Units, or 42,146,691 kilometers:

Tue Nov 7 2056
42,146,691
0.281733

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

Comet 185P/Petriew Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 185P/Petriew, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 185P/Petriew as a function of time

Comet 185P/Petriew Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 185P/Petriew at epoch 29 June 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456473.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.69933460
Orbit inclination i 14.00710281°
Perihelion distance q 0.93197571 AU
139,421,582 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.26744537 AU
787,998,613 km
Semi-major axis a 3.09971054 AU
463,710,097 km
Orbital period period 5.4575 years
1,993.3343 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2012-Aug-13 13:13:58
2,456,153.0514 JD
Next perihelion transit 2018-Jan-27 21:15
2,458,146.3857 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 181.93919392608°
Longitude of the ascending node node 214.09125498944°
Mean anomaly M 57.873637850864°
Mean motion n 0.18060192°/day

Visualization of Comet 185P/Petriew Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 185P/Petriew with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 185P/Petriew 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 185P/Petriew
View Comet 185P/Petriew in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 185P/Petriew 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 185P/Petriew computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 185P/Petriew in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 12 10h 36m 38s -08° 18’ 25” 19.36 Sextans
2024 Mar 13 10h 35m 43s -08° 07’ 53” 19.39 Sextans
2024 Mar 14 10h 34m 48s -07° 57’ 20” 19.41 Sextans
2024 Mar 15 10h 33m 53s -07° 46’ 46” 19.43 Sextans
2024 Mar 16 10h 33m 01s -07° 36’ 15” 19.45 Sextans
2024 Mar 17 10h 32m 09s -07° 25’ 45” 19.47 Sextans
2024 Mar 18 10h 31m 18s -07° 15’ 15” 19.50 Sextans
2024 Mar 19 10h 30m 29s -07° 04’ 50” 19.52 Sextans
2024 Mar 20 10h 29m 43s -06° 54’ 26” 19.54 Sextans
2024 Mar 21 10h 28m 55s -06° 44’ 07” 19.56 Sextans
2024 Mar 22 10h 28m 10s -06° 33’ 51” 19.59 Sextans
2024 Mar 23 10h 27m 26s -06° 23’ 39” 19.61 Sextans
2024 Mar 24 10h 26m 44s -06° 13’ 32” 19.63 Sextans
2024 Mar 25 10h 26m 03s -06° 03’ 29” 19.66 Sextans