Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf Position
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf is currently in the constellation of Scorpius. The current Right Ascension is 17h 26m 01s and the Declination is -38° 29’ 38”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf Distance
The distance of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf from Earth is currently 4,896,369,314 kilometers, equivalent to 32.730207 Astronomical Units. Light takes 4 hours, 32 minutes and 12.5300 seconds to travel from Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf 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.
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 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf to Earth happens on Tue Jun 10 2059 at a distance of 1.48516675 Astronomical Units, or 222,177,784 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf is 27.53.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf, 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.
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf at epoch 30 September 1989 00:00 UTC (JD: 2447800.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.97195226 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.33394047° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.47875271 AU 71,620,386 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
33.65966096 AU 5,035,413,618 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
17.06920683 AU 2,553,517,002 km |
| Orbital period | period |
70.5200 years 25,758.3736 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1989-Sep-11 22:29:54 2,447,781.4374 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2060-Mar-21 07:27 2,473,539.8111 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 129.61068367887° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 311.58546221411° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 0.26641915255031° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.01397604°/day |
Visualization of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf 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!
View Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 23P/Brorsen-Metcalf in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Mar 28 | 17h 26m 21s | -38° 26’ 23” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Mar 29 | 17h 26m 20s | -38° 26’ 48” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Mar 30 | 17h 26m 17s | -38° 27’ 14” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Mar 31 | 17h 26m 14s | -38° 27’ 38” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 01 | 17h 26m 12s | -38° 28’ 04” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 17h 26m 09s | -38° 28’ 28” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 17h 26m 07s | -38° 28’ 53” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 04 | 17h 26m 03s | -38° 29’ 17” | 27.54 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 05 | 17h 26m 00s | -38° 29’ 40” | 27.53 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 06 | 17h 25m 57s | -38° 30’ 03” | 27.53 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 07 | 17h 25m 54s | -38° 30’ 27” | 27.53 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 08 | 17h 25m 50s | -38° 30’ 50” | 27.53 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 09 | 17h 25m 46s | -38° 31’ 13” | 27.53 | Scorpius |
| 2020 Apr 10 | 17h 25m 42s | -38° 31’ 35” | 27.53 | Scorpius |