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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: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 237P/LINEAR

Altitude: 10.5°   Azimuth: 106.8°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 237P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 237P/LINEAR is 21h 19m 06s and the Declination is -02° 00’ 38” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 237P/LINEAR is 18.31 (JPL).

21h 19m 06s
-02° 00’ 38”
Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.31

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 237P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 92.0°
Max altitude: 36.5°
Azimuth: 268.0°
  • 237P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 10° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 237P/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 237P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 237P/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 237P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December,05 2023
Map showing Comet 237P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December, 05 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 237P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 237P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December, 05 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 237P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

237P/LINEAR
RA: 21h 19m 06s
Dec: -02° 00’ 38”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 237P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 237P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 237P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 237P/LINEAR Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 237P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 403,355,138 kilometers, equivalent to 2.696263 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22 minutes and 25.4479 seconds to travel from Comet 237P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

403,355,138
2.696263
22 minutes and 25.4479 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 237P/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 237P/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 237P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 237P/LINEAR to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 237P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Sat Jun 10 2056 at a distance of 1.028164 Astronomical Units, or 153,811,159 kilometers:

Sat Jun 10 2056
153,811,159
1.028164

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

Comet 237P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 237P/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 237P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 237P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 237P/LINEAR at epoch 25 May 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457534.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.43450304
Orbit inclination i 14.02245859°
Perihelion distance q 1.98489178 AU
296,935,584 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.03509919 AU
753,240,119 km
Semi-major axis a 3.50999548 AU
525,087,851 km
Orbital period period 6.5761 years
2,401.9185 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2016-Oct-11 15:27:44
2,457,673.1443 JD
Next perihelion transit 2023-May-10 13:30
2,460,075.0627 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 25.028605852421°
Longitude of the ascending node node 245.43400072°
Mean anomaly M 339.21997141319°
Mean motion n 0.14988019°/day

Visualization of Comet 237P/LINEAR Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 237P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 237P/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 237P/LINEAR
View Comet 237P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 237P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 237P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 237P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 28 21h 07m 18s -02° 26’ 47” 18.06 Aquarius
2023 Nov 29 21h 08m 52s -02° 23’ 35” 18.10 Aquarius
2023 Nov 30 21h 10m 26s -02° 20’ 18” 18.13 Aquarius
2023 Dec 01 21h 11m 59s -02° 16’ 57” 18.16 Aquarius
2023 Dec 02 21h 13m 35s -02° 13’ 27” 18.20 Aquarius
2023 Dec 03 21h 15m 10s -02° 09’ 54” 18.23 Aquarius
2023 Dec 04 21h 16m 44s -02° 06’ 14” 18.26 Aquarius
2023 Dec 05 21h 18m 20s -02° 02’ 27” 18.30 Aquarius
2023 Dec 06 21h 19m 54s -01° 58’ 36” 18.33 Aquarius
2023 Dec 07 21h 21m 29s -01° 54’ 38” 18.36 Aquarius
2023 Dec 08 21h 23m 06s -01° 50’ 35” 18.39 Aquarius
2023 Dec 09 21h 24m 41s -01° 46’ 27” 18.43 Aquarius
2023 Dec 10 21h 26m 17s -01° 42’ 12” 18.46 Aquarius
2023 Dec 11 21h 27m 52s -01° 37’ 53” 18.49 Aquarius