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public  Gannavaram, India Gannavaram, India  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Kolkata
Sunrise: 5:39 
Transit: 12:11 
Sunset: 18:42
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Comets » 

Comet 199P/Shoemaker

Above the horizon.  Rise: 2:31 | Tran: 8:29 | Set: 14:24
Alt: 11.90°   Az: 263.58°   Direction: West

Comet 199P/Shoemaker is in the constellation of Eridanus, at a distance of 839,243,269.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 12m 42s and the Declination is -02° 38’ 42” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 199P/Shoemaker, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 22.57).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 199P/Shoemaker in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 199P/Shoemaker in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 199P/Shoemaker in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 199P/Shoemaker against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

199P/Shoemaker
RA: 03h 11m 25s
Dec: -02° 44’ 24”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 199P/Shoemaker. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

03h 12m 42s
-02° 38’ 42”
05h 07m 02s
08h 19m 44s

J2000

03h 11m 25s
-02° 44’ 24”

Additional Information

Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.57

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 199P/Shoemaker from Gannavaram, India (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Kolkata):

Azimuth: 92.6°
Max altitude: 70.8°
Azimuth: 267.4°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 199P/Shoemaker from Earth is currently 839,243,269.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.6099947484 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46m 39.414s to travel from comet 199P/Shoemaker and arrive to us.

839,243,269.0
5.6099947484
46m 39.414s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 199P/Shoemaker from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 199P/Shoemaker from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 199P/Shoemaker from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 199P/Shoemaker to Earth will happen on Monday 1 July 2080 at a distance of 1.904540 Astronomical Units, or 284,915,184 kilometers:

Monday 1 July 2080
284,915,184
1.904540

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 199P/Shoemaker, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 199P/Shoemaker as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 199P/Shoemaker at epoch April, 26 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455678.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.50752456
Orbit inclination i 24.75618189°
Perihelion distance q 2.92904667 AU
438,179,145 km
Aphelion distance Q 8.96615228 AU
1,341,317,292 km
Semi-major axis a 5.94759947 AU
889,748,219 km
Orbital period period 14.5051 years
5,297.9883 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp April 8, 2009
2,454,929.6010 JD
Next perihelion transit October 10, 2023
2,460,227.5893 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 191.82663846202°
Longitude of the ascending node node 92.62228874093°
Mean anomaly M 50.887926588811°
Mean motion n 0.06795032°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 199P/Shoemaker relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 199P/Shoemaker computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jun 27 2025 03h 07m 58s -02° 46’ 28” 22.55 Eridanus
Jun 28 2025 03h 08m 38s -02° 45’ 11” 22.55 Eridanus
Jun 29 2025 03h 09m 18s -02° 43’ 59” 22.55 Eridanus
Jun 30 2025 03h 09m 57s -02° 42’ 50” 22.56 Eridanus
Jul 01 2025 03h 10m 36s -02° 41’ 47” 22.56 Eridanus
Jul 02 2025 03h 11m 14s -02° 40’ 47” 22.56 Eridanus
Jul 03 2025 03h 11m 53s -02° 39’ 51” 22.56 Eridanus
Jul 04 2025 03h 12m 30s -02° 38’ 59” 22.57 Eridanus
Jul 05 2025 03h 13m 07s -02° 38’ 11” 22.57 Eridanus
Jul 06 2025 03h 13m 44s -02° 37’ 28” 22.57 Eridanus
Jul 07 2025 03h 14m 21s -02° 36’ 48” 22.57 Eridanus
Jul 08 2025 03h 14m 57s -02° 36’ 12” 22.57 Eridanus
Jul 09 2025 03h 15m 32s -02° 35’ 41” 22.58 Eridanus
Jul 10 2025 03h 16m 07s -02° 35’ 13” 22.58 Eridanus

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