Comet 240P/NEAT
Comet 240P/NEAT is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 240P/NEAT is 15h 47m 21s and the Declination is -08° 16’ 12” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 240P/NEAT is 20.06 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 240P/NEAT [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 240P/NEAT is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 30° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 240P/NEAT is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 240P/NEAT rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 240P/NEAT available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 240P/NEAT Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 240P/NEAT 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 240P/NEAT is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 240P/NEAT?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 240P/NEAT in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 240P/NEAT Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 240P/NEAT from Earth is currently 819,683,165 kilometers, equivalent to 5.479244 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 34.1687 seconds to travel from Comet 240P/NEAT and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 240P/NEAT 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 240P/NEAT from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 240P/NEAT to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 240P/NEAT to Earth happens on Thu Nov 25 2055 at a distance of 1.118207 Astronomical Units, or 167,281,388 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 240P/NEAT brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 240P/NEAT is 20.06.
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 240P/NEAT, 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 240P/NEAT 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 240P/NEAT 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 240P/NEAT 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 240P/NEAT Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 240P/NEAT at epoch 10 February 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456699.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.44983374 |
Orbit inclination | i | 23.52512862° |
Perihelion distance | q | 2.12816631 AU 318,369,149 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
5.60828160 AU 838,986,987 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
3.86822395 AU 578,678,068 km |
Orbital period | period |
7.6100 years 2,778.8547 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2010-Oct-04 18:40:04 2,455,474.2778 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2018-May-14 15:10 2,458,253.1325 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 352.14939669795° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 74.951461242755° |
Mean anomaly | M | 158.72725534752° |
Mean motion | n | 0.12954977°/day |
Visualization of Comet 240P/NEAT Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 240P/NEAT with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 240P/NEAT 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 240P/NEAT in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 240P/NEAT 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 240P/NEAT computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 240P/NEAT in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 Jan 21 | 15h 43m 53s | -08° 09’ 06” | 20.09 | Libra |
2021 Jan 22 | 15h 44m 24s | -08° 10’ 14” | 20.09 | Libra |
2021 Jan 23 | 15h 44m 53s | -08° 11’ 18” | 20.08 | Libra |
2021 Jan 24 | 15h 45m 23s | -08° 12’ 20” | 20.08 | Libra |
2021 Jan 25 | 15h 45m 51s | -08° 13’ 18” | 20.08 | Libra |
2021 Jan 26 | 15h 46m 18s | -08° 14’ 15” | 20.07 | Libra |
2021 Jan 27 | 15h 46m 46s | -08° 15’ 07” | 20.07 | Libra |
2021 Jan 28 | 15h 47m 13s | -08° 15’ 57” | 20.06 | Libra |
2021 Jan 29 | 15h 47m 39s | -08° 16’ 45” | 20.06 | Libra |
2021 Jan 30 | 15h 48m 06s | -08° 17’ 29” | 20.05 | Libra |
2021 Jan 31 | 15h 48m 30s | -08° 18’ 10” | 20.05 | Libra |
2021 Feb 01 | 15h 48m 56s | -08° 18’ 47” | 20.04 | Libra |
2021 Feb 02 | 15h 49m 19s | -08° 19’ 23” | 20.04 | Libra |
2021 Feb 03 | 15h 49m 44s | -08° 19’ 55” | 20.03 | Libra |