Comet 246P/NEAT
Comet 246P/NEAT is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 246P/NEAT is 00h 11m 34s and the Declination is -14° 29’ 34” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 246P/NEAT is 17.44 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 246P/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]:
- 246P/NEAT is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 4° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 246P/NEAT is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 246P/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 246P/NEAT available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 246P/NEAT Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 246P/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.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 246P/NEAT is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 246P/NEAT?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 246P/NEAT in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 246P/NEAT Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 246P/NEAT from Earth is currently 597,330,075 kilometers, equivalent to 3.992905 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 12.4787 seconds to travel from Comet 246P/NEAT and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 246P/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 246P/NEAT from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 246P/NEAT to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 246P/NEAT to Earth happens on Thu Jul 1 2021 at a distance of 1.944324 Astronomical Units, or 290,866,772 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 246P/NEAT brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 246P/NEAT is 17.44.
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 246P/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 246P/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 246P/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 246P/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 246P/NEAT Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 246P/NEAT at epoch 02 April 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456020.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.28504436 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 15.97088996° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.87943242 AU 430,756,959 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.17542377 AU 774,232,378 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.02742809 AU 602,494,669 km |
| Orbital period | period |
8.0826 years 2,952.1616 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Jan-28 22:28:39 2,456,321.4366 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Feb-28 02:21 2,459,273.5981 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 176.23963901937° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 78.78369645013° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 323.30242639114° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.12194455°/day |
Visualization of Comet 246P/NEAT Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 246P/NEAT with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 246P/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 246P/NEAT in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 246P/NEAT 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 246P/NEAT computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 246P/NEAT in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 12 | 00h 04m 00s | -14° 55’ 01” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 13 | 00h 05m 02s | -14° 51’ 23” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 14 | 00h 06m 03s | -14° 47’ 48” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 15 | 00h 07m 05s | -14° 44’ 20” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 16 | 00h 08m 04s | -14° 40’ 54” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 17 | 00h 09m 05s | -14° 37’ 35” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 18 | 00h 10m 05s | -14° 34’ 20” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 19 | 00h 11m 03s | -14° 31’ 10” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 20 | 00h 12m 02s | -14° 28’ 05” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 21 | 00h 13m 00s | -14° 25’ 05” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 22 | 00h 13m 58s | -14° 22’ 10” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 23 | 00h 14m 54s | -14° 19’ 20” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 24 | 00h 15m 51s | -14° 16’ 36” | 17.44 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 25 | 00h 16m 48s | -14° 13’ 58” | 17.44 | Cetus |