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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet 22P/Kopff

Altitude: 10.1°   Azimuth: 72.7°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 22P/Kopff is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 755,947,381 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 22P/Kopff in Taurus on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 22P/Kopff in Taurus on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 22P/Kopff is 04h 25m 18s and the Declination is +18° 37’ 04” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 22P/Kopff is 21.97 (JPL).

04h 25m 18s
+18° 37’ 04”
Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.97

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: 71.4°
Max altitude: 57.1°
Azimuth: 288.6°
  • 22P/Kopff is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-North-East direction at an altitude of 10° above the horizon.
  • 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 22P/Kopff Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 22P/Kopff
Map showing Comet 22P/Kopff in Taurus on March, 19 2024
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: 04h 25m 18s
Dec: +18° 37’ 04”
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 755,947,381 kilometers, equivalent to 5.053196 Astronomical Units. Light takes 42 minutes and 1.5690 seconds to travel from Comet 22P/Kopff and arrive to us.

755,947,381
5.053196
42 minutes and 1.5690 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
2024 Mar 12 04h 21m 26s +18° 22’ 01” 21.90 Taurus
2024 Mar 13 04h 21m 56s +18° 24’ 02” 21.91 Taurus
2024 Mar 14 04h 22m 26s +18° 26’ 03” 21.92 Taurus
2024 Mar 15 04h 22m 57s +18° 28’ 04” 21.93 Taurus
2024 Mar 16 04h 23m 27s +18° 30’ 06” 21.94 Taurus
2024 Mar 17 04h 23m 58s +18° 32’ 08” 21.95 Taurus
2024 Mar 18 04h 24m 32s +18° 34’ 10” 21.96 Taurus
2024 Mar 19 04h 25m 05s +18° 36’ 14” 21.97 Taurus
2024 Mar 20 04h 25m 37s +18° 38’ 17” 21.98 Taurus
2024 Mar 21 04h 26m 12s +18° 40’ 20” 21.99 Taurus
2024 Mar 22 04h 26m 47s +18° 42’ 24” 22.00 Taurus
2024 Mar 23 04h 27m 21s +18° 44’ 30” 22.01 Taurus
2024 Mar 24 04h 27m 57s +18° 46’ 33” 22.02 Taurus
2024 Mar 25 04h 28m 33s +18° 48’ 38” 22.03 Taurus