Comet 209P/LINEAR
Comet 209P/LINEAR Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 209P/LINEAR is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
Comet 209P/LINEAR Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 209P/LINEAR rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Comet 209P/LINEAR Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 209P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 209P/LINEAR 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!
View Comet 209P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 209P/LINEAR Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 209P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 209P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Sep 14 | 21.33 | 12h 59m 24s | -00° 22’ 37” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 15 | 21.34 | 13h 00m 06s | -00° 29’ 03” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 16 | 21.34 | 13h 00m 50s | -00° 35’ 27” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 17 | 21.34 | 13h 01m 33s | -00° 41’ 53” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 18 | 21.35 | 13h 02m 17s | -00° 48’ 16” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 19 | 21.35 | 13h 03m 02s | -00° 54’ 41” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 20 | 21.35 | 13h 03m 46s | -01° 01’ 05” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 21 | 21.36 | 13h 04m 29s | -01° 07’ 27” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 22 | 21.36 | 13h 05m 15s | -01° 13’ 50” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 23 | 21.36 | 13h 05m 58s | -01° 20’ 12” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 24 | 21.36 | 13h 06m 43s | -01° 26’ 32” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 25 | 21.37 | 13h 07m 27s | -01° 32’ 53” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 26 | 21.37 | 13h 08m 12s | -01° 39’ 15” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 27 | 21.37 | 13h 08m 57s | -01° 45’ 33” | Virgo |
Distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.
Light Curve of Comet 209P/LINEAR
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 209P/LINEAR, 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.
Comet 209P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 209P/LINEAR at epoch 22 June 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455735.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.69256369 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.48032030° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.90098697 AU 134,785,732 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.96030487 AU 742,051,048 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.93064592 AU 438,418,390 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0200 years 1,832.4978 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Apr-17 12:44:57 2,454,939.0312 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2014-Apr-24 00:41 2,456,771.5290 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 150.52958376952° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 65.393856991194° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 156.46881922669° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19645317°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2031-Oct-21 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.24561708 AU 36,743,793 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.