Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost)

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) is currently in the constellation of Centaurus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) is 13h 59m 43s and the Declination is -54° 04’ 33” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) is 29.60 (JPL).

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 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth?)
• When does Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) from Earth is currently 3,567,935,564 kilometers, equivalent to 23.850176 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3 hours, 18 minutes and 21.3520 seconds to travel from Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) 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 (Lost) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) to Earth happens on Wed Apr 18 2096 at a distance of 2.068993 Astronomical Units, or 309,516,955 kilometers:

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

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost), 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.

Visualization of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) 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!

Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 20D/Westphal (Lost) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 May 21	14h 01m 14s	-54° 13’ 20”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 22	14h 01m 01s	-54° 12’ 11”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 23	14h 00m 48s	-54° 10’ 58”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 24	14h 00m 35s	-54° 09’ 45”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 25	14h 00m 23s	-54° 08’ 30”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 26	14h 00m 10s	-54° 07’ 14”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 27	13h 59m 57s	-54° 05’ 57”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 28	13h 59m 44s	-54° 04’ 40”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 29	13h 59m 32s	-54° 03’ 20”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 30	13h 59m 21s	-54° 01’ 59”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 May 31	13h 59m 08s	-54° 00’ 38”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 Jun 01	13h 58m 56s	-53° 59’ 17”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 Jun 02	13h 58m 45s	-53° 57’ 54”	29.60	Centaurus
2023 Jun 03	13h 58m 33s	-53° 56’ 30”	29.60	Centaurus