Comet 252P/LINEAR

Comet 252P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 252P/LINEAR is 22h 36m 34s and the Declination is -04° 46’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 252P/LINEAR is 31.56 (JPL).

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 252P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 252P/LINEAR?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 252P/LINEAR from Earth?)
• When does Comet 252P/LINEAR rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 252P/LINEAR?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 252P/LINEAR orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 252P/LINEAR with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 252P/LINEAR for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 252P/LINEAR in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 252P/LINEAR with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 252P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 252P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 252P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 252P/LINEAR Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 252P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 762,671,561 kilometers, equivalent to 5.098144 Astronomical Units. Light takes 42 minutes and 23.9985 seconds to travel from Comet 252P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 252P/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 252P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 252P/LINEAR to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 252P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Tue Mar 22 2016 at a distance of 0.035735 Astronomical Units, or 5,345,817 kilometers:

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

Comet 252P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 252P/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.

Visualization of Comet 252P/LINEAR Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 252P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 252P/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!

Comet 252P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 252P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 252P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Dec 02	22h 34m 36s	-04° 48’ 21”	31.50	Aquarius
2023 Dec 03	22h 34m 51s	-04° 48’ 17”	31.51	Aquarius
2023 Dec 04	22h 35m 07s	-04° 48’ 09”	31.52	Aquarius
2023 Dec 05	22h 35m 22s	-04° 47’ 54”	31.53	Aquarius
2023 Dec 06	22h 35m 39s	-04° 47’ 36”	31.54	Aquarius
2023 Dec 07	22h 35m 57s	-04° 47’ 13”	31.55	Aquarius
2023 Dec 08	22h 36m 15s	-04° 46’ 46”	31.56	Aquarius
2023 Dec 09	22h 36m 33s	-04° 46’ 14”	31.56	Aquarius
2023 Dec 10	22h 36m 51s	-04° 45’ 38”	31.57	Aquarius
2023 Dec 11	22h 37m 12s	-04° 44’ 57”	31.58	Aquarius
2023 Dec 12	22h 37m 32s	-04° 44’ 12”	31.59	Aquarius
2023 Dec 13	22h 37m 53s	-04° 43’ 23”	31.60	Aquarius
2023 Dec 14	22h 38m 14s	-04° 42’ 30”	31.61	Aquarius
2023 Dec 15	22h 38m 36s	-04° 41’ 32”	31.61	Aquarius