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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)

Altitude: -18.6°   Azimuth: 90.4°   Direction: East

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) is 16h 55m 13s and the Declination is -14° 43’ 29” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) is 26.67 (JPL).

16h 55m 13s
-14° 43’ 29”
Ophiucus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
26.67

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 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 104.7°
Max altitude: 23.8°
Azimuth: 255.3°
  • 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 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.

Available Resources

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 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.

Finder chart of 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in Ophiucus on October,04 2023
Map showing Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in Ophiucus on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)
Map showing Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in Ophiucus on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)
RA: 16h 55m 13s
Dec: -14° 43’ 29”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) from Earth is currently 645,629,145 kilometers, equivalent to 4.315764 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35 minutes and 53.5870 seconds to travel from Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) and arrive to us.

645,629,145
4.315764
35 minutes and 53.5870 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 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 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 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 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) to Earth happens on Sun Nov 28 2032 at a distance of 0.784610 Astronomical Units, or 117,375,995 kilometers:

Sun Nov 28 2032
117,375,995
0.784610

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

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost), 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 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) as a function of time

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2440240.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64258098
Orbit inclination i 17.75898277°
Perihelion distance q 1.27224808 AU
190,325,604 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.84683635 AU
874,674,270 km
Semi-major axis a 3.55954221 AU
532,499,937 km
Orbital period period 6.7158 years
2,452.9554 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 1968-Nov-01 13:00:40
2,440,162.0421 JD
Next perihelion transit 1975-Jul-21 11:56
2,442,614.9975 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 166.05041712495°
Longitude of the ascending node node 240.87554663092°
Mean anomaly M 11.514613023145°
Mean motion n 0.14676174°/day

Visualization of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 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 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost)
View Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 18D/Perrine-Mrkos (Lost) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 27 16h 50m 12s -14° 33’ 36” 26.72 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 28 16h 50m 51s -14° 34’ 55” 26.71 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 29 16h 51m 29s -14° 36’ 15” 26.70 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 30 16h 52m 09s -14° 37’ 36” 26.70 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 01 16h 52m 50s -14° 38’ 57” 26.69 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 02 16h 53m 31s -14° 40’ 17” 26.69 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 03 16h 54m 14s -14° 41’ 36” 26.68 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 04 16h 54m 56s -14° 42’ 56” 26.67 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 05 16h 55m 40s -14° 44’ 17” 26.67 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 06 16h 56m 24s -14° 45’ 35” 26.66 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 07 16h 57m 09s -14° 46’ 54” 26.65 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 08 16h 57m 53s -14° 48’ 14” 26.65 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 09 16h 58m 40s -14° 49’ 32” 26.64 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 10 16h 59m 26s -14° 50’ 48” 26.63 Ophiucus