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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:38  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:28

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is 09h 53m 50s and the Declination is +21° 52’ 50” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is 18.41 (JPL).

09h 53m 50s
+21° 52’ 50”
Leo
18.41

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 68.1°
Max altitude: 60.4°
Azimuth: 291.9°
  • 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 43° above the horizon.
  • 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.

Available Resources

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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.

Map showing Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in Leo on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in Leo on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher 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: 09h 53m 50s
Dec: +21° 52’ 50”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT from Earth is currently 203,458,227 kilometers, equivalent to 1.360034 Astronomical Units. Light takes 11 minutes and 18.6636 seconds to travel from Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT and arrive to us.

203,458,227
1.360034
11 minutes and 18.6636 seconds

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 of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, 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 146,008,425 kilometers:

Mon Jan 18 2016
146,008,425
0.976006

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

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT is 18.41.

18.41
-
-

The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.

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

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT at epoch 19 October 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456585.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.47212804
Orbit inclination i 6.58890103°
Perihelion distance q 1.93104595 AU
288,880,363 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.38529624 AU
805,628,853 km
Semi-major axis a 3.65817110 AU
547,254,608 km
Orbital period period 6.9969 years
2,555.6092 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2015-Dec-11 09:55:30
2,457,367.9136 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Dec-10 00:32
2,459,923.5228 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 354.9910444685°
Longitude of the ascending node node 109.07430775348°
Mean anomaly M 249.78405778331°
Mean motion n 0.14086661°/day

Visualization of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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 204P/LINEAR-NEAT
View Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 204P/LINEAR-NEAT in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 24 09h 52m 41s +22° 06’ 48” 18.25 Leo
2023 Mar 25 09h 52m 45s +22° 05’ 26” 18.27 Leo
2023 Mar 26 09h 52m 51s +22° 03’ 52” 18.30 Leo
2023 Mar 27 09h 52m 59s +22° 02’ 06” 18.32 Leo
2023 Mar 28 09h 53m 09s +22° 00’ 06” 18.34 Leo
2023 Mar 29 09h 53m 21s +21° 57’ 56” 18.37 Leo
2023 Mar 30 09h 53m 35s +21° 55’ 32” 18.39 Leo
2023 Mar 31 09h 53m 49s +21° 52’ 58” 18.41 Leo
2023 Apr 01 09h 54m 06s +21° 50’ 12” 18.44 Leo
2023 Apr 02 09h 54m 24s +21° 47’ 15” 18.46 Leo
2023 Apr 03 09h 54m 42s +21° 44’ 07” 18.49 Leo
2023 Apr 04 09h 55m 04s +21° 40’ 49” 18.51 Leo
2023 Apr 05 09h 55m 27s +21° 37’ 19” 18.53 Leo
2023 Apr 06 09h 55m 50s +21° 33’ 42” 18.56 Leo