Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Position
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is currently in the constellation of Hydra. The current Right Ascension is 09h 38m 48s and the Declination is -05° 53’ 00”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Hihgher 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 679,938,666 kilometers, equivalent to 4.545109 Astronomical Units. Light takes 37 minutes and 48.0313 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 21.40.
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 behvior 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, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Aug 12 | 09h 29m 48s | -05° 18’ 19” | 21.31 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 13 | 09h 30m 56s | -05° 22’ 32” | 21.32 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 14 | 09h 32m 06s | -05° 26’ 48” | 21.34 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 15 | 09h 33m 15s | -05° 31’ 08” | 21.35 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 16 | 09h 34m 23s | -05° 35’ 30” | 21.36 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 17 | 09h 35m 31s | -05° 39’ 55” | 21.37 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 18 | 09h 36m 39s | -05° 44’ 22” | 21.38 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 19 | 09h 37m 48s | -05° 48’ 54” | 21.39 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 20 | 09h 38m 54s | -05° 53’ 27” | 21.40 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 21 | 09h 40m 03s | -05° 58’ 04” | 21.41 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 22 | 09h 41m 09s | -06° 02’ 43” | 21.42 | Hydra |
| 2019 Aug 23 | 09h 42m 15s | -06° 07’ 24” | 21.43 | Sextans |
| 2019 Aug 24 | 09h 43m 23s | -06° 12’ 08” | 21.44 | Sextans |
| 2019 Aug 25 | 09h 44m 29s | -06° 16’ 55” | 21.45 | Sextans |