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Comets » 

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT

Below the horizon.  Rise: 4:27 | Tran: 8:34 | Set: 12:40
Alt: -4.39°   Az: 117.98°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 809,423,704.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 17h 56m 42s and the Declination is -20° 33’ 37” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is 24.13 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in Sagittarius on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in Sagittarius on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

204P/LINEAR-NEAT
RA: 17h 55m 12s
Dec: -20° 33’ 28”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

17h 56m 42s
-20° 33’ 37”
19h 19m 31s
13h 16m 13s

J2000

17h 55m 12s
-20° 33’ 28”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.13

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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 110.6°
Max altitude: 18.0°
Azimuth: 249.4°
  • 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT from Earth is currently 809,423,704.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.4106632682 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44m 59.947s to travel from Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT and arrive to us.

809,423,704.0
5.4106632682
44m 59.947s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT to Earth happens on Mon Jan 18 2016 at a distance of 0.976006 Astronomical Units, or 146,008,396 kilometers:

Mon Jan 18 2016
146,008,396
0.976006

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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT, 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT at epoch 27 November 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456989.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.47217310
Orbit inclination i 6.58885931°
Perihelion distance q 1.92992845 AU
288,713,188 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.38280396 AU
805,256,013 km
Semi-major axis a 3.65636621 AU
546,984,600 km
Orbital period period 6.9917 years
2,553.7181 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2015-Dec-11 12:45:33
2,457,368.0316 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Dec-08 05:59
2,459,921.7497 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 355.04771051761°
Longitude of the ascending node node 109.07289485234°
Mean anomaly M 306.63804632106°
Mean motion n 0.14097092°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT
View Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 03 17h 51m 16s -20° 33’ 01” 24.14 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 04 17h 52m 03s -20° 33’ 10” 24.14 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 05 17h 52m 49s -20° 33’ 17” 24.14 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 06 17h 53m 35s -20° 33’ 24” 24.14 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 07 17h 54m 20s -20° 33’ 29” 24.13 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 08 17h 55m 05s -20° 33’ 32” 24.13 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 09 17h 55m 50s -20° 33’ 36” 24.13 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 10 17h 56m 34s -20° 33’ 37” 24.13 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 11 17h 57m 18s -20° 33’ 37” 24.12 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 12 17h 58m 01s -20° 33’ 38” 24.12 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 13 17h 58m 44s -20° 33’ 36” 24.12 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 14 17h 59m 26s -20° 33’ 34” 24.11 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 15 18h 00m 07s -20° 33’ 30” 24.11 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 16 18h 00m 48s -20° 33’ 26” 24.11 Sagittarius

Additional Resources