Comet 209P/LINEAR
Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 01h 48m 49s and the Declination is -11° 04’ 13” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 28.00 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 209P/LINEAR [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 209P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South direction at an altitude of 27° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 209P/LINEAR is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 209P/LINEAR rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 209P/LINEAR available on TheSkyLive:
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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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.
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 499,543,622 kilometers, equivalent to 3.339243 Astronomical Units. Light takes 27 minutes and 46.2982 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 0.05555074 Astronomical Units, or 8,310,272 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 28.00.
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 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
Today's Comet 209P/LINEAR rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 209P/LINEAR touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric 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 20 January 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455947.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.69202141 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 20.61911891° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.90284098 AU 135,063,088 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.96017037 AU 742,030,928 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.93150568 AU 438,547,008 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0200 years 1,833.3042 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Apr-23 05:23:18 2,456,770.7245 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2019-Apr-30 12:41 2,458,604.0287 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 152.13065495149° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 63.608316933501° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 198.34607210401° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19636676°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Jul 31 | 01h 48m 57s | -10° 33’ 33” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 01 | 01h 49m 00s | -10° 37’ 31” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 02 | 01h 49m 00s | -10° 41’ 35” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 03 | 01h 49m 00s | -10° 45’ 43” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 04 | 01h 49m 00s | -10° 49’ 59” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 05 | 01h 48m 57s | -10° 54’ 20” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 06 | 01h 48m 55s | -10° 58’ 45” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 07 | 01h 48m 51s | -11° 03’ 17” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 08 | 01h 48m 44s | -11° 07’ 54” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 09 | 01h 48m 38s | -11° 12’ 36” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 10 | 01h 48m 30s | -11° 17’ 21” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 11 | 01h 48m 21s | -11° 22’ 13” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 12 | 01h 48m 12s | -11° 27’ 09” | 28.00 | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 13 | 01h 48m 02s | -11° 32’ 09” | 28.00 | Cetus |