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public  Ouangani, Mayotte Ouangani, Mayotte  ⓘ
TimezoneIndian/Mayotte
Sunrise: 6:22 
Transit: 12:03 
Sunset: 17:44
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Comets » 

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 12:07 | Tran: 19:20 | Set: 2:33
Alt: 41.12°   Az: 155.81°   Direction: South-South-East

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) is in the constellation of Centaurus, at a distance of 3,353,376,807.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 14h 04m 52s and the Declination is -54° 42’ 20” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 29.16).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in the constellation of Centaurus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in the constellation of Centaurus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

20D/Westphal (Lost)
RA: 14h 03m 09s
Dec: -54° 35’ 02”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

14h 04m 52s
-54° 42’ 20”
21h 50m 50s
11h 55m 42s

J2000

14h 03m 09s
-54° 35’ 02”

Additional Information

Centaurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29.16

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Ouangani, Mayotte (all times relative to the local timezone Indian/Mayotte):

Azimuth: 144.7°
Max altitude: 48.1°
Azimuth: 215.3°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth is currently 3,353,376,807.0 kilometers, equivalent to 22.4159394202 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3h 6m 25.661s to travel from comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) and arrive to us.

3,353,376,807.0
22.4159394202
3h 6m 25.661s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) to Earth will happen on Wednesday 18 April 2096 at a distance of 2.068993 Astronomical Units, or 309,516,955 kilometers:

Wednesday 18 April 2096
309,516,955
2.068993

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) at epoch 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 61.8661 years
22,596.6052 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp November 26, 1913
2,420,098.2903 JD
Next perihelion transit October 9, 1975
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

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jun 25 2025 14h 05m 43s -54° 55’ 27” 29.16 Centaurus
Jun 26 2025 14h 05m 35s -54° 53’ 44” 29.16 Centaurus
Jun 27 2025 14h 05m 28s -54° 52’ 00” 29.16 Centaurus
Jun 28 2025 14h 05m 21s -54° 50’ 17” 29.16 Centaurus
Jun 29 2025 14h 05m 14s -54° 48’ 33” 29.16 Centaurus
Jun 30 2025 14h 05m 07s -54° 46’ 49” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 01 2025 14h 05m 01s -54° 45’ 06” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 02 2025 14h 04m 55s -54° 43’ 22” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 03 2025 14h 04m 50s -54° 41’ 38” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 04 2025 14h 04m 44s -54° 39’ 54” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 05 2025 14h 04m 39s -54° 38’ 10” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 06 2025 14h 04m 34s -54° 36’ 26” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 07 2025 14h 04m 29s -54° 34’ 42” 29.16 Centaurus
Jul 08 2025 14h 04m 24s -54° 32’ 58” 29.16 Centaurus

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