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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet 209P/LINEAR

Altitude: 36.3°   Azimuth: 66.1°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Auriga, at a distance of 244,281,423 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 05h 09m 10s and the Declination is +41° 48’ 21” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 20.30 (JPL).

05h 09m 10s
+41° 48’ 21”
Auriga
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.30

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):

Today Comet 209P/LINEAR is circumpolar and transits at 17:18 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 80.3°.
  • 209P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-North-East direction at an altitude of 36° 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 209P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 209P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 209P/LINEAR in Auriga on March, 19 2024
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: 05h 09m 10s
Dec: +41° 48’ 21”
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 244,281,423 kilometers, equivalent to 1.632920 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 34.8351 seconds to travel from Comet 209P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

244,281,423
1.632920
13 minutes and 34.8351 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
2024 Mar 12 05h 00m 45s +41° 53’ 13” 20.34 Auriga
2024 Mar 13 05h 01m 44s +41° 52’ 28” 20.33 Auriga
2024 Mar 14 05h 02m 44s +41° 51’ 46” 20.33 Auriga
2024 Mar 15 05h 03m 50s +41° 51’ 05” 20.32 Auriga
2024 Mar 16 05h 04m 55s +41° 50’ 26” 20.32 Auriga
2024 Mar 17 05h 06m 06s +41° 49’ 49” 20.31 Auriga
2024 Mar 18 05h 07m 18s +41° 49’ 14” 20.30 Auriga
2024 Mar 19 05h 08m 31s +41° 48’ 39” 20.30 Auriga
2024 Mar 20 05h 09m 48s +41° 48’ 07” 20.29 Auriga
2024 Mar 21 05h 11m 08s +41° 47’ 36” 20.28 Auriga
2024 Mar 22 05h 12m 29s +41° 47’ 08” 20.28 Auriga
2024 Mar 23 05h 13m 54s +41° 46’ 37” 20.27 Auriga
2024 Mar 24 05h 15m 20s +41° 46’ 09” 20.26 Auriga
2024 Mar 25 05h 16m 50s +41° 45’ 42” 20.25 Auriga