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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:48  ☀️ Transit: 13:04  🌅 Sunset: 19:21

Comet 249P/LINEAR

Comet 249P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Cancer. The current Right Ascension of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 08h 00m 40s and the Declination is +11° 31’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 24.74 (JPL).

08h 00m 40s
+11° 31’ 26”
Cancer
24.74

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

Azimuth: 78.5°
Max altitude: 50.1°
Azimuth: 281.5°
  • 249P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 16° 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.

Map showing Comet 249P/LINEAR in Cancer on March, 27 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 249P/LINEAR in Cancer on March, 27 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

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: 08h 00m 40s
Dec: +11° 31’ 26”
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 661,484,314 kilometers, equivalent to 4.421750 Astronomical Units. Light takes 36 minutes and 46.4742 seconds to travel from Comet 249P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

661,484,314
4.421750
36 minutes and 46.4742 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

The current visual magnitude of Comet 249P/LINEAR is 24.74.

24.74
-
-

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.

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 Mar 20 08h 02m 35s +11° 12’ 52” 24.69 Cancer
2023 Mar 21 08h 02m 17s +11° 15’ 27” 24.70 Cancer
2023 Mar 22 08h 01m 59s +11° 18’ 00” 24.70 Cancer
2023 Mar 23 08h 01m 42s +11° 20’ 30” 24.71 Cancer
2023 Mar 24 08h 01m 27s +11° 22’ 57” 24.71 Cancer
2023 Mar 25 08h 01m 14s +11° 25’ 22” 24.72 Cancer
2023 Mar 26 08h 01m 00s +11° 27’ 45” 24.73 Cancer
2023 Mar 27 08h 00m 47s +11° 30’ 05” 24.73 Cancer
2023 Mar 28 08h 00m 35s +11° 32’ 21” 24.74 Cancer
2023 Mar 29 08h 00m 24s +11° 34’ 36” 24.74 Cancer
2023 Mar 30 08h 00m 15s +11° 36’ 48” 24.75 Cancer
2023 Mar 31 08h 00m 06s +11° 38’ 57” 24.76 Cancer
2023 Apr 01 07h 59m 57s +11° 41’ 04” 24.76 Cancer
2023 Apr 02 07h 59m 50s +11° 43’ 09” 24.77 Cancer