Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Position
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is currently in the constellation of Crater. The current Right Ascension is 10h 57m 34s and the Declination is -17° 29’ 52”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Distance
The distance of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner from Earth is currently 573,054,436 kilometers, equivalent to 3.830632 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 51.5038 seconds to travel from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner to Earth happens on Tue Sep 17 2058 at a distance of 0.39032355 Astronomical Units, or 58,391,572 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is 21.85.
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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner at epoch 08 August 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458339.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.71046355 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 31.99782626° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.01282554 AU 151,516,544 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.98336123 AU 895,098,101 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.49809338 AU 523,307,323 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5400 years 2,389.7118 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Sep-10 06:39:39 2,458,371.7775 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Mar-26 23:44 2,460,761.4893 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 172.86055325826° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 195.39198746422° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 355.13752392339° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15064578°/day |
Visualization of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Jan 13 | 11h 00m 24s | -17° 29’ 21” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 14 | 11h 00m 02s | -17° 29’ 50” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 15 | 10h 59m 39s | -17° 30’ 12” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 16 | 10h 59m 17s | -17° 30’ 27” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 17 | 10h 58m 53s | -17° 30’ 32” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 18 | 10h 58m 27s | -17° 30’ 28” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 19 | 10h 58m 01s | -17° 30’ 15” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 20 | 10h 57m 34s | -17° 29’ 53” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 21 | 10h 57m 06s | -17° 29’ 21” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 22 | 10h 56m 39s | -17° 28’ 41” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 23 | 10h 56m 09s | -17° 27’ 52” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 24 | 10h 55m 40s | -17° 26’ 53” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 25 | 10h 55m 09s | -17° 25’ 45” | 21.85 | Crater |
| 2020 Jan 26 | 10h 54m 37s | -17° 24’ 28” | 21.85 | Crater |