Latest Comet 217P/LINEAR
Comet 217P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 12h 37m 40s and the Declination is +10° 21’ 41” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 23.21 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 217P/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]:
- 217P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West direction at an altitude of 10° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 217P/LINEAR is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 217P/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 217P/LINEAR available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 217P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 217P/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 217P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 217P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 217P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 217P/LINEAR Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 217P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 881,313,098 kilometers, equivalent to 5.891214 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 59.7441 seconds to travel from Comet 217P/LINEAR and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 217P/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 217P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 217P/LINEAR to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 217P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Tue Sep 8 2048 at a distance of 0.396240 Astronomical Units, or 59,276,715 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 217P/LINEAR brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 23.21.
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 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 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 217P/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 217P/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 217P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 217P/LINEAR at epoch 09 August 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455418.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.68961401 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.88033435° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.22424069 AU 183,143,801 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
6.66426417 AU 996,959,732 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.94425243 AU 590,051,766 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.8300 years 2,861.1820 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Sep-08 23:39:24 2,455,083.4857 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Jul-10 04:01 2,457,944.6677 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 246.76468058888° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 125.62086297064° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 42.152212197359° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.12582213°/day |
Visualization of Comet 217P/LINEAR Orbit
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 15 Days 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Apr 29 | 12h 40m 30s | +10° 12’ 03” | 23.18 | Virgo |
| 2021 Apr 30 | 12h 40m 05s | +10° 13’ 38” | 23.18 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 01 | 12h 39m 41s | +10° 15’ 08” | 23.19 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 02 | 12h 39m 15s | +10° 16’ 35” | 23.19 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 03 | 12h 38m 53s | +10° 17’ 57” | 23.19 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 04 | 12h 38m 29s | +10° 19’ 13” | 23.20 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 05 | 12h 38m 05s | +10° 20’ 26” | 23.20 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 06 | 12h 37m 44s | +10° 21’ 33” | 23.21 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 07 | 12h 37m 22s | +10° 22’ 36” | 23.21 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 08 | 12h 37m 00s | +10° 23’ 35” | 23.21 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 09 | 12h 36m 38s | +10° 24’ 28” | 23.22 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 10 | 12h 36m 18s | +10° 25’ 17” | 23.22 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 11 | 12h 35m 57s | +10° 26’ 02” | 23.23 | Virgo |
| 2021 May 12 | 12h 35m 38s | +10° 26’ 42” | 23.23 | Virgo |