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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:52  
clear_day Transit: 11:51  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 230P/LINEAR

Altitude: 36.1°   Azimuth: 195.9°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 230P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Virgo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 230P/LINEAR is 14h 34m 36s and the Declination is -01° 17’ 08” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 230P/LINEAR is 22.42 (JPL).

14h 34m 36s
-01° 17’ 08”
Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.42

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 230P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 91.3°
Max altitude: 37.2°
Azimuth: 268.7°
  • 230P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 36° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 230P/LINEAR 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 230P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 230P/LINEAR 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 230P/LINEAR in Virgo on December,10 2023
Map showing Comet 230P/LINEAR in Virgo on December, 10 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 230P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 230P/LINEAR in Virgo on December, 10 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 230P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

230P/LINEAR
RA: 14h 34m 36s
Dec: -01° 17’ 08”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 230P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 230P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 230P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 230P/LINEAR Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 230P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 771,240,627 kilometers, equivalent to 5.155425 Astronomical Units. Light takes 42 minutes and 52.5818 seconds to travel from Comet 230P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

771,240,627
5.155425
42 minutes and 52.5818 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 230P/LINEAR 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 230P/LINEAR 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 230P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 230P/LINEAR to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 230P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Sat Dec 5 2015 at a distance of 0.547771 Astronomical Units, or 81,945,347 kilometers:

Sat Dec 5 2015
81,945,347
0.547771

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

Comet 230P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 230P/LINEAR, 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 230P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 230P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 230P/LINEAR at epoch 16 May 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456794.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.56330685
Orbit inclination i 14.65405958°
Perihelion distance q 1.48497397 AU
222,148,945 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.31602102 AU
795,265,427 km
Semi-major axis a 3.40049750 AU
508,707,186 km
Orbital period period 6.2708 years
2,290.4041 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2015-Nov-17 23:32:26
2,457,344.4809 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Feb-24 09:14
2,459,634.8850 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 308.90760658997°
Longitude of the ascending node node 112.39840717756°
Mean anomaly M 273.55538077034°
Mean motion n 0.15717750°/day

Visualization of Comet 230P/LINEAR Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 230P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 230P/LINEAR 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 230P/LINEAR
View Comet 230P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 230P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 230P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 230P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Dec 03 14h 28m 27s -00° 56’ 32” 22.43 Virgo
2023 Dec 04 14h 29m 17s -00° 59’ 31” 22.43 Virgo
2023 Dec 05 14h 30m 07s -01° 02’ 27” 22.43 Virgo
2023 Dec 06 14h 30m 59s -01° 05’ 18” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 07 14h 31m 47s -01° 08’ 06” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 08 14h 32m 38s -01° 10’ 49” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 09 14h 33m 26s -01° 13’ 27” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 10 14h 34m 15s -01° 16’ 03” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 11 14h 35m 04s -01° 18’ 33” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 12 14h 35m 53s -01° 21’ 01” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 13 14h 36m 42s -01° 23’ 22” 22.42 Virgo
2023 Dec 14 14h 37m 28s -01° 25’ 41” 22.41 Virgo
2023 Dec 15 14h 38m 17s -01° 27’ 56” 22.41 Virgo
2023 Dec 16 14h 39m 03s -01° 30’ 05” 22.41 Virgo