Comet 209P/LINEAR
Comet 209P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Aries. The current Right Ascension of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 03h 07m 47s and the Declination is +11° 26’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 209P/LINEAR is 25.01 (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-East direction at an altitude of 42° 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.
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 869,839,626 kilometers, equivalent to 5.814519 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 21.4727 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 0.055551 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 25.01.
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 | 0.69202140 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 20.61912261° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.90284100 AU 135,063,092 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.96017032 AU 742,030,920 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.93150566 AU 438,547,006 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0193 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 | 152.13065928179° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 63.608318863063° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 198.34607101666° |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 19 | 03h 01m 59s | +10° 56’ 48” | 25.03 | Aries |
| 2022 May 20 | 03h 02m 47s | +11° 00’ 56” | 25.03 | Aries |
| 2022 May 21 | 03h 03m 33s | +11° 05’ 03” | 25.03 | Aries |
| 2022 May 22 | 03h 04m 20s | +11° 09’ 08” | 25.02 | Aries |
| 2022 May 23 | 03h 05m 08s | +11° 13’ 13” | 25.02 | Aries |
| 2022 May 24 | 03h 05m 56s | +11° 17’ 14” | 25.02 | Aries |
| 2022 May 25 | 03h 06m 42s | +11° 21’ 15” | 25.02 | Aries |
| 2022 May 26 | 03h 07m 29s | +11° 25’ 13” | 25.01 | Aries |
| 2022 May 27 | 03h 08m 17s | +11° 29’ 09” | 25.01 | Aries |
| 2022 May 28 | 03h 09m 03s | +11° 33’ 05” | 25.01 | Aries |
| 2022 May 29 | 03h 09m 51s | +11° 36’ 57” | 25.01 | Aries |
| 2022 May 30 | 03h 10m 37s | +11° 40’ 49” | 25.00 | Aries |
| 2022 May 31 | 03h 11m 23s | +11° 44’ 39” | 25.00 | Aries |
| 2022 Jun 01 | 03h 12m 11s | +11° 48’ 25” | 25.00 | Aries |