Comet 246P/NEAT
Comet 246P/NEAT is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 246P/NEAT is 01h 17m 18s and the Declination is -04° 00’ 52” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 246P/NEAT is 18.99 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 246P/NEAT from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 246P/NEAT is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 246P/NEAT is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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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 796,921,433 kilometers, equivalent to 5.327091 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44 minutes and 18.2438 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 246P/NEAT to Earth happens on Thu Jul 1 2021 at a distance of 1.944326 Astronomical Units, or 290,867,032 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 18.99.
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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 246P/NEAT at epoch 28 February 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456352.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.28506336 |
Orbit inclination | i | 15.97175634° |
Perihelion distance | q | 2.87976142 AU 430,806,177 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
5.17622915 AU 774,352,860 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
4.02799528 AU 602,579,519 km |
Orbital period | period |
8.0843 years 2,952.7852 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Jan-28 16:33:30 2,456,321.1899 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2021-Feb-28 11:24 2,459,273.9751 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 176.18444314559° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 78.780551294862° |
Mean anomaly | M | 3.8172849844056° |
Mean motion | n | 0.12191879°/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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Mar 16 | 01h 10m 35s | -04° 52’ 36” | 18.95 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 17 | 01h 11m 30s | -04° 45’ 21” | 18.95 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 18 | 01h 12m 25s | -04° 38’ 08” | 18.96 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 19 | 01h 13m 22s | -04° 30’ 57” | 18.96 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 20 | 01h 14m 17s | -04° 23’ 48” | 18.97 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 21 | 01h 15m 14s | -04° 16’ 40” | 18.98 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 22 | 01h 16m 09s | -04° 09’ 33” | 18.98 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 23 | 01h 17m 05s | -04° 02’ 27” | 18.99 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 24 | 01h 18m 02s | -03° 55’ 23” | 18.99 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 25 | 01h 18m 59s | -03° 48’ 23” | 19.00 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 26 | 01h 19m 54s | -03° 41’ 22” | 19.00 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 27 | 01h 20m 50s | -03° 34’ 24” | 19.01 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 28 | 01h 21m 47s | -03° 27’ 28” | 19.02 | Cetus |
2023 Mar 29 | 01h 22m 44s | -03° 20’ 34” | 19.02 | Cetus |