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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: 7:51  
clear_day Transit: 11:50  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 252P/LINEAR

Altitude: -23.3°   Azimuth: 293.3°   Direction: West-North-West

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).

22h 36m 34s
-04° 46’ 14”
Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
31.56

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):

Azimuth: 94.8°
Max altitude: 33.8°
Azimuth: 265.2°
  • 252P/LINEAR is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 252P/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 252P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 252P/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 252P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December,09 2023
Map showing Comet 252P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December, 09 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 252P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 252P/LINEAR in Aquarius on December, 09 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

252P/LINEAR
RA: 22h 36m 34s
Dec: -04° 46’ 14”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 252P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

762,671,561
5.098144
42 minutes and 23.9985 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 252P/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 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:

Tue Mar 22 2016
5,345,817
0.035735

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 252P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 252P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 252P/LINEAR at epoch 12 June 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457552.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.67308502
Orbit inclination i 10.42219597°
Perihelion distance q 0.99604590 AU
149,006,346 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.09756221 AU
762,584,455 km
Semi-major axis a 3.04680406 AU
455,795,400 km
Orbital period period 5.3183 years
1,942.5187 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2016-Mar-15 06:19:30
2,457,462.7635 JD
Next perihelion transit 2021-Jul-09 18:46
2,459,405.2823 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 343.31047464389°
Longitude of the ascending node node 190.94849576985°
Mean anomaly M 16.630533941618°
Mean motion n 0.18532640°/day

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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 252P/LINEAR
View Comet 252P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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