Comet 20D/Westphal
Comet 20D/Westphal Position
Comet 20D/Westphal is currently in the constellation of Centaurus. The current Right Ascension is 13h 53m 17s and the Declination is -49° 38’ 04”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 20D/Westphal 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 20D/Westphal is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 20D/Westphal?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 20D/Westphal in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 20D/Westphal Distance
The distance of Comet 20D/Westphal from Earth is currently 4,140,209,549 kilometers, equivalent to 27.675591 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3 hours, 50 minutes and 10.2525 seconds to travel from Comet 20D/Westphal and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 20D/Westphal 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 20D/Westphal from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 20D/Westphal to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 20D/Westphal to Earth happens on Wed Apr 18 2096 at a distance of 2.06898637 Astronomical Units, or 309,515,957 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 20D/Westphal brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 20D/Westphal is 30.31.
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 20D/Westphal, 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 20D/Westphal rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet 20D/Westphal 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 20D/Westphal 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 20D/Westphal Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 20D/Westphal at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2420080.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.91983119 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 40.89006106° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.25401276 AU 187,597,639 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
30.03029210 AU 4,492,467,764 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
15.64215243 AU 2,340,032,701 km |
| Orbital period | period |
61.8700 years 22,596.6052 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1913-Nov-26 18:57:58 2,420,098.2903 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 1975-Oct-09 09:29 2,442,694.8954 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 57.08095497142° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 348.00644693114° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.71657281861° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.01593160°/day |
Visualization of Comet 20D/Westphal Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 20D/Westphal with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 20D/Westphal 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 20D/Westphal in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 20D/Westphal 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 20D/Westphal computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 20D/Westphal in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Oct 14 | 13h 51m 45s | -49° 34’ 10” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 15 | 13h 51m 57s | -49° 34’ 40” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 16 | 13h 52m 09s | -49° 35’ 09” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 17 | 13h 52m 23s | -49° 35’ 40” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 18 | 13h 52m 36s | -49° 36’ 14” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 19 | 13h 52m 49s | -49° 36’ 47” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 20 | 13h 53m 02s | -49° 37’ 22” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 21 | 13h 53m 14s | -49° 37’ 59” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 22 | 13h 53m 27s | -49° 38’ 36” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 23 | 13h 53m 40s | -49° 39’ 15” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 24 | 13h 53m 53s | -49° 39’ 56” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 25 | 13h 54m 06s | -49° 40’ 37” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 26 | 13h 54m 20s | -49° 41’ 21” | 30.31 | Centaurus |
| 2019 Oct 27 | 13h 54m 33s | -49° 42’ 05” | 30.31 | Centaurus |