Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is currently in the constellation of Virgo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is 13h 20m 56s and the Declination is +00° 46’ 19” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is 22.36 (JPL).

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 21P/Giacobini-Zinner from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner from Earth?)
• When does Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

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 from Earth

The distance of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner from Earth is currently 663,741,316 kilometers, equivalent to 4.436837 Astronomical Units. Light takes 36 minutes and 54.0027 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner to Earth happens on Fri Oct 28 2078 at a distance of 0.255783 Astronomical Units, or 38,264,665 kilometers:

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

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Brightness and Light Curve

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.

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!

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
2023 May 25	13h 23m 45s	+00° 25’ 41”	22.35	Virgo
2023 May 26	13h 23m 21s	+00° 28’ 50”	22.35	Virgo
2023 May 27	13h 22m 55s	+00° 31’ 53”	22.35	Virgo
2023 May 28	13h 22m 32s	+00° 34’ 50”	22.36	Virgo
2023 May 29	13h 22m 08s	+00° 37’ 41”	22.36	Virgo
2023 May 30	13h 21m 46s	+00° 40’ 27”	22.36	Virgo
2023 May 31	13h 21m 23s	+00° 43’ 08”	22.36	Virgo
2023 Jun 01	13h 21m 02s	+00° 45’ 42”	22.36	Virgo
2023 Jun 02	13h 20m 40s	+00° 48’ 11”	22.37	Virgo
2023 Jun 03	13h 20m 21s	+00° 50’ 35”	22.37	Virgo
2023 Jun 04	13h 20m 02s	+00° 52’ 53”	22.37	Virgo
2023 Jun 05	13h 19m 44s	+00° 55’ 05”	22.37	Virgo
2023 Jun 06	13h 19m 26s	+00° 57’ 11”	22.38	Virgo
2023 Jun 07	13h 19m 09s	+00° 59’ 12”	22.38	Virgo