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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 217P/LINEAR

Altitude: 8.2°   Azimuth: 244.7°   Direction: West-South-West

Comet 217P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus, at a distance of 553,504,277 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 217P/LINEAR in Ophiucus on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 217P/LINEAR in Ophiucus on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 16h 42m 17s and the Declination is -08° 43’ 18” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 217P/LINEAR is 20.84 (JPL).

16h 42m 17s
-08° 43’ 18”
Ophiucus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.84

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 217P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 98.7°
Max altitude: 29.8°
Azimuth: 261.3°
  • 217P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 8° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 217P/LINEAR is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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 Resources

Comet 217P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 217P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 217P/LINEAR in Ophiucus on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

217P/LINEAR
RA: 16h 42m 17s
Dec: -08° 43’ 18”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 217P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 553,504,277 kilometers, equivalent to 3.699948 Astronomical Units. Light takes 30 minutes and 46.2915 seconds to travel from Comet 217P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

553,504,277
3.699948
30 minutes and 46.2915 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 217P/LINEAR from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 1 January 2013 and 30 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:

Tue Sep 8 2048
59,276,666
0.396240

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

Comet 217P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 217P/LINEAR as a function of time

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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 217P/LINEAR
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
2024 Mar 12 16h 40m 50s -09° 01’ 24” 20.95 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 13 16h 41m 04s -08° 59’ 05” 20.94 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 14 16h 41m 18s -08° 56’ 44” 20.92 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 15 16h 41m 31s -08° 54’ 20” 20.91 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 16 16h 41m 44s -08° 51’ 54” 20.89 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 17 16h 41m 54s -08° 49’ 23” 20.88 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 18 16h 42m 06s -08° 46’ 51” 20.86 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 19 16h 42m 15s -08° 44’ 17” 20.84 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 20 16h 42m 23s -08° 41’ 39” 20.83 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 21 16h 42m 30s -08° 38’ 58” 20.81 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 22 16h 42m 37s -08° 36’ 15” 20.80 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 23 16h 42m 42s -08° 33’ 30” 20.78 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 24 16h 42m 47s -08° 30’ 42” 20.77 Ophiucus
2024 Mar 25 16h 42m 50s -08° 27’ 52” 20.75 Ophiucus