Comet 217P/LINEAR
Comet 217P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 13h 24m 57s and the Declination is +06° 35’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 23.00 (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 below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- 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 840,359,317 kilometers, equivalent to 5.617455 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46 minutes and 43.1370 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 59,276,666 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 23.00.
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 11 August 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455420.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.68961463 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.88031481° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.22424331 AU 183,144,193 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
6.66429408 AU 996,964,205 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.94426869 AU 590,054,199 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.8335 years 2,861.1997 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Sep-08 23:39:54 2,455,083.4861 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Jul-10 04:27 2,457,944.6857 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 246.76489240242° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 125.62084153525° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 42.403549522719° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.12582135°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 09 | 13h 28m 10s | +06° 25’ 57” | 22.98 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 10 | 13h 27m 43s | +06° 27’ 30” | 22.98 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 11 | 13h 27m 16s | +06° 28’ 59” | 22.99 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 12 | 13h 26m 50s | +06° 30’ 24” | 22.99 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 13 | 13h 26m 25s | +06° 31’ 45” | 22.99 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 14 | 13h 25m 59s | +06° 33’ 01” | 22.99 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 15 | 13h 25m 33s | +06° 34’ 12” | 22.99 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 16 | 13h 25m 09s | +06° 35’ 17” | 23.00 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 17 | 13h 24m 44s | +06° 36’ 20” | 23.00 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 18 | 13h 24m 20s | +06° 37’ 17” | 23.00 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 19 | 13h 23m 57s | +06° 38’ 09” | 23.00 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 20 | 13h 23m 34s | +06° 38’ 57” | 23.01 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 21 | 13h 23m 11s | +06° 39’ 41” | 23.01 | Virgo |
| 2022 May 22 | 13h 22m 49s | +06° 40’ 18” | 23.01 | Virgo |