Comet 209P/LINEAR
Comet 209P/LINEAR Position
Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Ara. The current Right Ascension is 17h 26m 37s and the Declination is -46° 16’ 24”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 209P/LINEAR is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 209P/LINEAR is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 209P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 209P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 209P/LINEAR Distance
The distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 201,793,966 kilometers, equivalent to 1.348909 Astronomical Units. Light takes 11 minutes and 13.1122 seconds to travel from Comet 209P/LINEAR and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR 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.
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 209P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 209P/LINEAR to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 209P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Thu May 29 2014 at a distance of 0.05555069 Astronomical Units, or 8,310,265 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 209P/LINEAR brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 20.74.
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 behvior 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 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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 209P/LINEAR touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 209P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 209P/LINEAR at epoch 19 December 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455915.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.69325906 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 20.35286461° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.89854218 AU 134,419,998 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.96009653 AU 742,019,880 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.92931935 AU 438,219,939 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0100 years 1,831.2537 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Apr-22 09:18:17 2,456,769.8877 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2019-Apr-27 15:23 2,458,601.1414 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 151.82789887145° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 63.949869237678° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 192.03879567775° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19658664°/day |
Visualization of Comet 209P/LINEAR Orbit
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 15 Days 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 | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Sep 14 | 16h 56m 26s | -46° 00’ 14” | 20.29 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 15 | 17h 00m 46s | -46° 04’ 18” | 20.35 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 16 | 17h 05m 03s | -46° 07’ 44” | 20.42 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 17 | 17h 09m 19s | -46° 10’ 35” | 20.48 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 18 | 17h 13m 32s | -46° 12’ 51” | 20.54 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 19 | 17h 17m 42s | -46° 14’ 32” | 20.60 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 20 | 17h 21m 51s | -46° 15’ 42” | 20.66 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 21 | 17h 25m 58s | -46° 16’ 21” | 20.73 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 22 | 17h 30m 02s | -46° 16’ 28” | 20.79 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 23 | 17h 34m 04s | -46° 16’ 08” | 20.85 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 24 | 17h 38m 03s | -46° 15’ 18” | 20.91 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 25 | 17h 42m 01s | -46° 14’ 00” | 20.97 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 26 | 17h 45m 56s | -46° 12’ 17” | 21.03 | Ara |
| 2019 Sep 27 | 17h 49m 49s | -46° 10’ 09” | 21.09 | Ara |