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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet 209P/LINEAR

Altitude: 4.0°   Azimuth: 315.7°   Direction: North-West

Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Auriga. The current Right Ascension of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 06h 37m 46s and the Declination is +29° 55’ 00” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 22.59 (JPL).

06h 37m 46s
+29° 55’ 00”
Auriga
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.59

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 209P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 60.1°
Max altitude: 68.4°
Azimuth: 299.9°
  • 209P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-West direction at an altitude of 4° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 209P/LINEAR 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 209P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 209P/LINEAR 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.

Finder chart of 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on October,04 2023
Map showing Comet 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 209P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 209P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

209P/LINEAR
RA: 06h 37m 46s
Dec: +29° 55’ 00”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 209P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
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 from Earth

The distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 429,488,428 kilometers, equivalent to 2.870953 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23 minutes and 52.6192 seconds to travel from Comet 209P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

429,488,428
2.870953
23 minutes and 52.6192 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 209P/LINEAR 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 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 209P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Thu May 29 2014 at a distance of 0.055551 Astronomical Units, or 8,310,272 kilometers:

Thu May 29 2014
8,310,272
0.055551

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

Comet 209P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 209P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 209P/LINEAR at epoch 06 March 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455993.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.68894843
Orbit inclination i 20.97698388°
Perihelion distance q 0.91351115 AU
136,659,324 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.96018470 AU
742,033,072 km
Semi-major axis a 2.93684793 AU
439,346,198 km
Orbital period period 5.0330 years
1,838.3179 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Apr-25 10:42:11
2,456,772.9460 JD
Next perihelion transit 2019-May-07 18:19
2,458,611.2639 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 152.46602699703°
Longitude of the ascending node node 63.202912872645°
Mean anomaly M 207.3601600402°
Mean motion n 0.19583120°/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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 209P/LINEAR
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
2023 Sep 27 06h 31m 59s +29° 22’ 57” 22.74 Auriga
2023 Sep 28 06h 32m 48s +29° 26’ 57” 22.72 Auriga
2023 Sep 29 06h 33m 35s +29° 31’ 02” 22.70 Auriga
2023 Sep 30 06h 34m 23s +29° 35’ 12” 22.68 Auriga
2023 Oct 01 06h 35m 08s +29° 39’ 24” 22.66 Auriga
2023 Oct 02 06h 35m 53s +29° 43’ 41” 22.64 Auriga
2023 Oct 03 06h 36m 38s +29° 48’ 01” 22.62 Auriga
2023 Oct 04 06h 37m 22s +29° 52’ 24” 22.60 Auriga
2023 Oct 05 06h 38m 03s +29° 56’ 53” 22.58 Auriga
2023 Oct 06 06h 38m 45s +30° 01’ 27” 22.56 Auriga
2023 Oct 07 06h 39m 26s +30° 06’ 03” 22.54 Auriga
2023 Oct 08 06h 40m 05s +30° 10’ 45” 22.52 Gemini
2023 Oct 09 06h 40m 45s +30° 15’ 33” 22.50 Gemini
2023 Oct 10 06h 41m 22s +30° 20’ 25” 22.48 Gemini