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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 249P/LINEAR

Altitude: 37.8°   Azimuth: 200.6°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 249P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Sextans.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 10h 18m 01s and the Declination is +01° 07’ 15” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 24.16 (JPL).

10h 18m 01s
+01° 07’ 15”
Sextans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.16

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 249P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 88.9°
Max altitude: 39.6°
Azimuth: 271.1°
  • 249P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 38° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 249P/LINEAR 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.

Available Resources

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.

Finder chart of 249P/LINEAR in Sextans on December,05 2023
Map showing Comet 249P/LINEAR in Sextans on December, 05 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 249P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 249P/LINEAR in Sextans on December, 05 2023
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.

249P/LINEAR
RA: 10h 18m 01s
Dec: +01° 07’ 15”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 249P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 588,088,609 kilometers, equivalent to 3.931130 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 41.6524 seconds to travel from Comet 249P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

588,088,609
3.931130
32 minutes and 41.6524 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 249P/LINEAR 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 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 249P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Thu Apr 23 2076 at a distance of 0.050799 Astronomical Units, or 7,599,441 kilometers:

Thu Apr 23 2076
7,599,441
0.050799

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

Comet 249P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 249P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 249P/LINEAR at epoch 24 July 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456863.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.81866843
Orbit inclination i 8.39934386°
Perihelion distance q 0.50234501 AU
75,149,744 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.03827893 AU
753,715,801 km
Semi-major axis a 2.77031197 AU
414,432,772 km
Orbital period period 4.6111 years
1,684.1914 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2015-Nov-26 18:53:49
2,457,353.2874 JD
Next perihelion transit 2020-Jul-06 23:29
2,459,037.4788 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 64.810357708193°
Longitude of the ascending node node 239.85204448666°
Mean anomaly M 255.30675821623°
Mean motion n 0.21375243°/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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 249P/LINEAR
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
2023 Nov 28 10h 16m 57s +01° 30’ 42” 24.25 Sextans
2023 Nov 29 10h 17m 08s +01° 27’ 16” 24.24 Sextans
2023 Nov 30 10h 17m 20s +01° 23’ 56” 24.23 Sextans
2023 Dec 01 10h 17m 29s +01° 20’ 38” 24.22 Sextans
2023 Dec 02 10h 17m 38s +01° 17’ 25” 24.20 Sextans
2023 Dec 03 10h 17m 47s +01° 14’ 13” 24.19 Sextans
2023 Dec 04 10h 17m 53s +01° 11’ 08” 24.18 Sextans
2023 Dec 05 10h 18m 00s +01° 08’ 06” 24.16 Sextans
2023 Dec 06 10h 18m 06s +01° 05’ 07” 24.15 Sextans
2023 Dec 07 10h 18m 10s +01° 02’ 12” 24.14 Sextans
2023 Dec 08 10h 18m 14s +00° 59’ 22” 24.12 Sextans
2023 Dec 09 10h 18m 15s +00° 56’ 36” 24.11 Sextans
2023 Dec 10 10h 18m 17s +00° 53’ 56” 24.09 Sextans
2023 Dec 11 10h 18m 19s +00° 51’ 20” 24.08 Sextans