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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:55  
clear_day Transit: 12:49  
SunsetSet: 18:41 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet 22P/Kopff

Altitude: -3.6°   Azimuth: 306.6°   Direction: North-West

Comet 22P/Kopff is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 22P/Kopff is 05h 13m 56s and the Declination is +18° 43’ 34” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 22P/Kopff is 20.88 (JPL).

05h 13m 56s
+18° 43’ 34”
Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.88

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 22P/Kopff from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 71.3°
Max altitude: 57.3°
Azimuth: 288.7°
  • 22P/Kopff is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 22P/Kopff 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.

Available Resources

Comet 22P/Kopff Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 22P/Kopff finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of 22P/Kopff in Taurus on September,29 2023
Map showing Comet 22P/Kopff in Taurus on September, 29 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 22P/Kopff
Map showing Comet 22P/Kopff in Taurus on September, 29 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 22P/Kopff is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

22P/Kopff
RA: 05h 13m 56s
Dec: +18° 43’ 34”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 22P/Kopff
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 22P/Kopff?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 22P/Kopff in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 22P/Kopff Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 22P/Kopff from Earth is currently 574,981,861 kilometers, equivalent to 3.843516 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 57.9330 seconds to travel from Comet 22P/Kopff and arrive to us.

574,981,861
3.843516
31 minutes and 57.9330 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 22P/Kopff 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 22P/Kopff 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 22P/Kopff from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 22P/Kopff to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 22P/Kopff to Earth happens on Fri Jul 22 2095 at a distance of 0.194544 Astronomical Units, or 29,103,364 kilometers:

Fri Jul 22 2095
29,103,364
0.194544

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

Comet 22P/Kopff Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 22P/Kopff, 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 22P/Kopff as a function of time

Comet 22P/Kopff Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 22P/Kopff at epoch 08 February 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458523.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.54859723
Orbit inclination i 4.73977623°
Perihelion distance q 1.55484653 AU
232,601,731 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.33410774 AU
797,971,162 km
Semi-major axis a 3.44447714 AU
515,286,447 km
Orbital period period 6.3928 years
2,334.9812 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Mar-17 21:28:30
2,459,656.3948 JD
Next perihelion transit 2028-Aug-07 21:01
2,461,991.3760 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 162.91098165°
Longitude of the ascending node node 120.83603816161°
Mean anomaly M 185.33387125004°
Mean motion n 0.15417683°/day

Visualization of Comet 22P/Kopff Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 22P/Kopff with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 22P/Kopff 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 22P/Kopff 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 22P/Kopff computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 22P/Kopff in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 22 05h 13m 24s +18° 48’ 21” 20.91 Taurus
2023 Sep 23 05h 13m 32s +18° 47’ 48” 20.90 Taurus
2023 Sep 24 05h 13m 39s +18° 47’ 12” 20.90 Taurus
2023 Sep 25 05h 13m 45s +18° 46’ 36” 20.90 Taurus
2023 Sep 26 05h 13m 49s +18° 45’ 59” 20.89 Taurus
2023 Sep 27 05h 13m 53s +18° 45’ 20” 20.89 Taurus
2023 Sep 28 05h 13m 54s +18° 44’ 39” 20.89 Taurus
2023 Sep 29 05h 13m 56s +18° 43’ 59” 20.89 Taurus
2023 Sep 30 05h 13m 56s +18° 43’ 17” 20.88 Taurus
2023 Oct 01 05h 13m 56s +18° 42’ 33” 20.88 Taurus
2023 Oct 02 05h 13m 54s +18° 41’ 48” 20.88 Taurus
2023 Oct 03 05h 13m 51s +18° 41’ 03” 20.88 Taurus
2023 Oct 04 05h 13m 49s +18° 40’ 17” 20.87 Taurus
2023 Oct 05 05h 13m 44s +18° 39’ 29” 20.87 Taurus