Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Position
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is currently in the constellation of Sextans. The current Right Ascension is 10h 10m 10s and the Declination is -10° 23’ 24”.
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 600,504,494 kilometers, equivalent to 4.014125 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 23.0674 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 Fri Oct 28 2078 at a distance of 0.25555475 Astronomical Units, or 38,230,446 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 21.90.
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 04 November 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458062.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.71046631 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 32.00310320° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.01350122 AU 151,617,624 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.98741965 AU 895,705,233 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.50046044 AU 523,661,429 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5500 years 2,392.1378 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Sep-10 06:22:13 2,458,371.7654 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Mar-29 09:40 2,460,763.9032 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 172.80870088496° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 195.40525291446° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 313.45771615758° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15049300°/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 Mar 31 | 10h 13m 02s | -11° 19’ 12” | 21.83 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 01 | 10h 12m 37s | -11° 11’ 29” | 21.84 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 10h 12m 11s | -11° 03’ 47” | 21.85 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 10h 11m 47s | -10° 56’ 07” | 21.86 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 04 | 10h 11m 22s | -10° 48’ 29” | 21.87 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 05 | 10h 10m 59s | -10° 40’ 53” | 21.88 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 06 | 10h 10m 39s | -10° 33’ 19” | 21.89 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 07 | 10h 10m 17s | -10° 25’ 47” | 21.90 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 08 | 10h 09m 56s | -10° 18’ 20” | 21.91 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 09 | 10h 09m 38s | -10° 10’ 54” | 21.92 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 10 | 10h 09m 19s | -10° 03’ 32” | 21.93 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 11 | 10h 09m 01s | -09° 56’ 12” | 21.94 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 12 | 10h 08m 44s | -09° 48’ 56” | 21.95 | Sextans |
| 2020 Apr 13 | 10h 08m 29s | -09° 41’ 44” | 21.96 | Sextans |