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Comets » 

Comet 199P/Shoemaker

Above the horizon.  Rise: 10:35 | Tran: 15:22 | Set: 20:09
Alt: 9.03°   Az: 125.98°   Direction: South-East

Comet 199P/Shoemaker is in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 786,589,367.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 01h 21m 22s and the Declination is -13° 48’ 10” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 199P/Shoemaker is 21.66 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 199P/Shoemaker in Cetus on February, 19 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 199P/Shoemaker in Cetus on February, 19 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 199P/Shoemaker is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

199P/Shoemaker
RA: 01h 20m 07s
Dec: -13° 56’ 03”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 199P/Shoemaker. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 199P/Shoemaker?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 199P/Shoemaker in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

01h 21m 22s
-13° 48’ 10”
20h 18m 26s
21h 39m 49s

J2000

01h 20m 07s
-13° 56’ 03”

Additional Information

Cetus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.66

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 199P/Shoemaker from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 103.8°
Max altitude: 24.7°
Azimuth: 256.2°
  • 199P/Shoemaker is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 9.03° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 199P/Shoemaker 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 199P/Shoemaker from Earth is currently 786,589,367.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.2580251532 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43m 43.780s to travel from Comet 199P/Shoemaker and arrive to us.

786,589,367.0
5.2580251532
43m 43.780s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 199P/Shoemaker 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 199P/Shoemaker 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 199P/Shoemaker from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 199P/Shoemaker to Earth happens on Mon Jul 1 2080 at a distance of 1.904540 Astronomical Units, or 284,915,184 kilometers:

Mon Jul 1 2080
284,915,184
1.904540

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 199P/Shoemaker, 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 199P/Shoemaker as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 199P/Shoemaker at epoch 26 April 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 2009-Apr-08 02:25:25
2,454,929.6010 JD
Next perihelion transit 2023-Oct-10 02:08
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

Orbit Diagram of Comet 199P/Shoemaker
View Comet 199P/Shoemaker in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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
2025 Feb 12 01h 15m 38s -14° 50’ 41” 21.56 Cetus
2025 Feb 13 01h 16m 23s -14° 42’ 15” 21.57 Cetus
2025 Feb 14 01h 17m 08s -14° 33’ 51” 21.58 Cetus
2025 Feb 15 01h 17m 54s -14° 25’ 28” 21.60 Cetus
2025 Feb 16 01h 18m 40s -14° 17’ 06” 21.61 Cetus
2025 Feb 17 01h 19m 26s -14° 08’ 47” 21.62 Cetus
2025 Feb 18 01h 20m 12s -14° 00’ 28” 21.63 Cetus
2025 Feb 19 01h 20m 59s -13° 52’ 12” 21.65 Cetus
2025 Feb 20 01h 21m 46s -13° 43’ 56” 21.66 Cetus
2025 Feb 21 01h 22m 33s -13° 35’ 44” 21.67 Cetus
2025 Feb 22 01h 23m 20s -13° 27’ 33” 21.68 Cetus
2025 Feb 23 01h 24m 08s -13° 19’ 23” 21.69 Cetus
2025 Feb 24 01h 24m 56s -13° 11’ 16” 21.70 Cetus
2025 Feb 25 01h 25m 44s -13° 03’ 09” 21.72 Cetus

Additional Resources