Comet 217P/LINEAR
Comet 217P/LINEAR Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 217P/LINEAR is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
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.
Comet 217P/LINEAR Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 217P/LINEAR rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Comet 217P/LINEAR Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 217P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 217P/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 217P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 217P/LINEAR Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 217P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 217P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Sep 17 | 10h 23m 53s | +14° 17’ 02” | 21.68 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 18 | 10h 24m 51s | +14° 12’ 51” | 21.69 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 19 | 10h 25m 49s | +14° 08’ 43” | 21.69 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 20 | 10h 26m 47s | +14° 04’ 35” | 21.70 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 21 | 10h 27m 42s | +14° 00’ 29” | 21.70 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 22 | 10h 28m 40s | +13° 56’ 23” | 21.70 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 23 | 10h 29m 35s | +13° 52’ 21” | 21.71 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 24 | 10h 30m 32s | +13° 48’ 20” | 21.71 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 25 | 10h 31m 27s | +13° 44’ 21” | 21.71 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 26 | 10h 32m 22s | +13° 40’ 23” | 21.72 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 27 | 10h 33m 17s | +13° 36’ 26” | 21.72 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 28 | 10h 34m 12s | +13° 32’ 33” | 21.72 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 29 | 10h 35m 07s | +13° 28’ 41” | 21.73 | Leo |
| 2018 Sep 30 | 10h 36m 01s | +13° 24’ 51” | 21.73 | Leo |
Distance of Comet 217P/LINEAR from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 217P/LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 217P/LINEAR is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 217P/LINEAR
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 217P/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 217P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 217P/LINEAR at epoch 03 August 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455412.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.68961213 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.88039448° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.22423336 AU 183,142,704 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
6.66417642 AU 996,946,604 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.94420489 AU 590,044,654 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.8300 years 2,861.1302 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Sep-08 23:37:53 2,455,083.4846 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Jul-10 02:45 2,457,944.6149 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 246.76407221967° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 125.62091680402° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 41.398159765643° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.12582440°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2048-Sep-08 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.39623993 AU 59,276,650 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.