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public  Pan’an, Cina Pan’an, Cina  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:05 
Transit: 12:02 
Sunset: 18:59
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Comets » 

Comet 22P/Kopff

Above the horizon.  Rise: 5:23 | Tran: 12:15 | Set: 19:04
Alt: 56.57°   Az: 265.43°   Direction: West

Comet 22P/Kopff is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 946,507,569.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 07h 06m 59s and the Declination is +21° 31’ 38” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 22P/Kopff, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 22.98).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 22P/Kopff against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

22P/Kopff
RA: 07h 05m 27s
Dec: +21° 34’ 04”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 22P/Kopff. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

07h 06m 59s
+21° 31’ 38”
02h 24m 42s
09h 31m 42s

J2000

07h 05m 27s
+21° 34’ 04”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.98

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 22P/Kopff from Pan’an, Cina (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 68.5°
Max altitude: 82.5°
Azimuth: 291.5°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth is currently 946,507,569.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.3270123069 Astronomical Units. Light takes 52m 37.209s to travel from comet 22P/Kopff and arrive to us.

946,507,569.0
6.3270123069
52m 37.209s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 22P/Kopff from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 22P/Kopff to Earth will happen on Monday 25 July 2095 at a distance of 0.224579 Astronomical Units, or 33,596,540 kilometers:

Monday 25 July 2095
33,596,540
0.224579

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 22P/Kopff, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 22P/Kopff as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 22P/Kopff at epoch February, 25 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458540.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.54861713
Orbit inclination i 4.73986877°
Perihelion distance q 1.55475742 AU
232,588,400 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.33410578 AU
797,970,868 km
Semi-major axis a 3.44443160 AU
515,279,634 km
Orbital period period 6.3927 years
2,334.9349 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp March 17, 2022
2,459,656.3895 JD
Next perihelion transit August 7, 2028
2,461,991.3244 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 162.91261517187°
Longitude of the ascending node node 120.83554854268°
Mean anomaly M 187.95227518762°
Mean motion n 0.15417989°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 22P/Kopff relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jun 27 2025 07h 00m 50s +21° 39’ 22” 22.98 Gemini
Jun 28 2025 07h 01m 40s +21° 38’ 22” 22.98 Gemini
Jun 29 2025 07h 02m 31s +21° 37’ 21” 22.98 Gemini
Jun 30 2025 07h 03m 22s +21° 36’ 18” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 01 2025 07h 04m 12s +21° 35’ 16” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 02 2025 07h 05m 03s +21° 34’ 11” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 03 2025 07h 05m 54s +21° 33’ 05” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 04 2025 07h 06m 45s +21° 31’ 57” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 05 2025 07h 07m 35s +21° 30’ 49” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 06 2025 07h 08m 26s +21° 29’ 39” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 07 2025 07h 09m 17s +21° 28’ 29” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 08 2025 07h 10m 08s +21° 27’ 17” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 09 2025 07h 10m 59s +21° 26’ 04” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 10 2025 07h 11m 50s +21° 24’ 50” 22.98 Gemini

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