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Comet 242P/Spahr

Below the horizon.  Rise: 13:46 | Tran: 18:39 | Set: 23:31
Alt: -43.07°   Az: 46.52°   Direction: North-East

Comet 242P/Spahr is in the constellation of Eridanus, at a distance of 569,068,488.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 51m 23s and the Declination is -12° 46’ 57” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 242P/Spahr is 18.34 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 242P/Spahr in Eridanus on February, 07 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 242P/Spahr in Eridanus on February, 07 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 242P/Spahr is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

242P/Spahr
RA: 03h 50m 12s
Dec: -12° 51’ 26”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 242P/Spahr. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 242P/Spahr?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 242P/Spahr in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

03h 51m 23s
-12° 46’ 57”
14h 11m 41s
18h 03m 04s

J2000

03h 50m 12s
-12° 51’ 26”

Additional Information

Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.34

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 242P/Spahr from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 102.8°
Max altitude: 25.8°
Azimuth: 257.3°
  • 242P/Spahr is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 242P/Spahr 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 242P/Spahr from Earth is currently 569,068,488.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.8039878866 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31m 38.208s to travel from Comet 242P/Spahr and arrive to us.

569,068,488.0
3.8039878866
31m 38.208s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 242P/Spahr 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 242P/Spahr 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 242P/Spahr from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 242P/Spahr to Earth happens on Fri Oct 17 2036 at a distance of 3.065836 Astronomical Units, or 458,642,481 kilometers:

Fri Oct 17 2036
458,642,481
3.065836

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 242P/Spahr, 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 242P/Spahr as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 242P/Spahr at epoch 30 September 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455470.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.31060857
Orbit inclination i 32.70387937°
Perihelion distance q 3.91921318 AU
586,305,948 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.45085331 AU
1,114,631,792 km
Semi-major axis a 5.68503324 AU
850,468,870 km
Orbital period period 13.5553 years
4,951.0572 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2012-Mar-31 17:06:43
2,456,018.2130 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Oct-20 18:29
2,460,969.2702 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 248.52949968913°
Longitude of the ascending node node 181.02804796066°
Mean anomaly M 320.17483230633°
Mean motion n 0.07271174°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 242P/Spahr
View Comet 242P/Spahr in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 242P/Spahr computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Jan 31 03h 49m 03s -13° 36’ 41” 18.29 Eridanus
2025 Feb 01 03h 49m 19s -13° 30’ 04” 18.30 Eridanus
2025 Feb 02 03h 49m 36s -13° 23’ 25” 18.30 Eridanus
2025 Feb 03 03h 49m 53s -13° 16’ 42” 18.31 Eridanus
2025 Feb 04 03h 50m 12s -13° 09’ 58” 18.32 Eridanus
2025 Feb 05 03h 50m 32s -13° 03’ 11” 18.33 Eridanus
2025 Feb 06 03h 50m 53s -12° 56’ 21” 18.34 Eridanus
2025 Feb 07 03h 51m 14s -12° 49’ 30” 18.34 Eridanus
2025 Feb 08 03h 51m 37s -12° 42’ 36” 18.35 Eridanus
2025 Feb 09 03h 52m 00s -12° 35’ 41” 18.36 Eridanus
2025 Feb 10 03h 52m 24s -12° 28’ 44” 18.37 Eridanus
2025 Feb 11 03h 52m 49s -12° 21’ 46” 18.37 Eridanus
2025 Feb 12 03h 53m 16s -12° 14’ 47” 18.38 Eridanus
2025 Feb 13 03h 53m 43s -12° 07’ 45” 18.39 Eridanus

Additional Resources