Comet 249P/LINEAR
Comet 249P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Cancer. The current Right Ascension of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 08h 05m 05s and the Declination is +12° 04’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 24.16 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 249P/LINEAR [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]:
- 249P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West direction at an altitude of 18° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 249P/LINEAR is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 249P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 249P/LINEAR 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
View fullscreen
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 249P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 249P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 249P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 249P/LINEAR Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 249P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 567,564,823 kilometers, equivalent to 3.793937 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 33.1925 seconds to travel from Comet 249P/LINEAR and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 249P/LINEAR to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 249P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Thu Apr 23 2076 at a distance of 0.050569 Astronomical Units, or 7,565,086 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 249P/LINEAR brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 24.16.
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 249P/LINEAR, 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 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 249P/LINEAR at epoch 17 July 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456856.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.81862344 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 8.40002391° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.50249060 AU 75,171,524 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.03836419 AU 753,728,556 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.77042739 AU 414,450,040 km |
| Orbital period | period |
4.6114 years 1,684.2967 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2015-Nov-26 19:12:57 2,457,353.3007 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2020-Jul-07 02:20 2,459,037.5973 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 64.783717202039° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 239.87579245552° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 253.81428881193° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.21373907°/day |
Visualization of Comet 249P/LINEAR Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 249P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 249P/LINEAR 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 249P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 249P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 249P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 249P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Dec 02 | 08h 09m 07s | +12° 05’ 08” | 24.18 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 03 | 08h 08m 38s | +12° 04’ 53” | 24.18 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 04 | 08h 08m 07s | +12° 04’ 41” | 24.18 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 05 | 08h 07m 35s | +12° 04’ 33” | 24.17 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 06 | 08h 07m 01s | +12° 04’ 31” | 24.17 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 07 | 08h 06m 28s | +12° 04’ 31” | 24.17 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 08 | 08h 05m 53s | +12° 04’ 35” | 24.16 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 09 | 08h 05m 17s | +12° 04’ 42” | 24.16 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 10 | 08h 04m 41s | +12° 04’ 54” | 24.16 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 11 | 08h 04m 04s | +12° 05’ 09” | 24.15 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 12 | 08h 03m 25s | +12° 05’ 29” | 24.15 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 13 | 08h 02m 47s | +12° 05’ 52” | 24.15 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 14 | 08h 02m 07s | +12° 06’ 18” | 24.14 | Cancer |
| 2021 Dec 15 | 08h 01m 26s | +12° 06’ 47” | 24.14 | Cancer |