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public  Minlagas, Philippines Minlagas, Philippines  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Manila
Sunrise: 5:28 
Transit: 11:45 
Sunset: 18:02
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Comets » 

Comet 252P/LINEAR

Below the horizon.  Rise: 0:26 | Tran: 6:32 | Set: 12:41
Alt: -47.23°   Az: 298.02°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 252P/LINEAR is in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 642,028,792.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 02h 16m 28s and the Declination is +11° 38’ 58” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 252P/LINEAR, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 29.74.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 252P/LINEAR in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 252P/LINEAR in the constellation of Aries on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 252P/LINEAR in the constellation of Aries on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 252P/LINEAR against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

252P/LINEAR
RA: 02h 15m 05s
Dec: +11° 31’ 54”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 252P/LINEAR. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

02h 16m 28s
+11° 38’ 58”
09h 29m 02s
11h 45m 30s

J2000

02h 15m 05s
+11° 31’ 54”

Additional Information

Aries
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29.74

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 252P/LINEAR from Minlagas, Philippines (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Manila):

Azimuth: 78.3°
Max altitude: 87.2°
Azimuth: 281.6°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 252P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 642,028,792.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.2916973951 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35m 41.578s to travel from comet 252P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

642,028,792.0
4.2916973951
35m 41.578s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 252P/LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 252P/LINEAR from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 252P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 252P/LINEAR to Earth happened on Tuesday 22 March 2016 at a distance of 0.035735 Astronomical Units, or 5,345,817 kilometers:

Tuesday 22 March 2016
5,345,817
0.035735

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 252P/LINEAR, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

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

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 252P/LINEAR at epoch June, 12 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 March 15, 2016
2,457,462.7635 JD
Next perihelion transit July 9, 2021
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

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 252P/LINEAR relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jul 05 2025 02h 12m 02s +11° 24’ 48” 29.86 Aries
Jul 06 2025 02h 12m 40s +11° 26’ 55” 29.84 Aries
Jul 07 2025 02h 13m 17s +11° 28’ 58” 29.83 Aries
Jul 08 2025 02h 13m 54s +11° 30’ 58” 29.81 Aries
Jul 09 2025 02h 14m 30s +11° 32’ 56” 29.79 Aries
Jul 10 2025 02h 15m 06s +11° 34’ 49” 29.78 Aries
Jul 11 2025 02h 15m 42s +11° 36’ 38” 29.76 Aries
Jul 12 2025 02h 16m 16s +11° 38’ 24” 29.74 Aries
Jul 13 2025 02h 16m 51s +11° 40’ 06” 29.73 Aries
Jul 14 2025 02h 17m 24s +11° 41’ 44” 29.71 Aries
Jul 15 2025 02h 17m 58s +11° 43’ 18” 29.69 Aries
Jul 16 2025 02h 18m 30s +11° 44’ 50” 29.68 Aries
Jul 17 2025 02h 19m 02s +11° 46’ 16” 29.66 Aries
Jul 18 2025 02h 19m 34s +11° 47’ 39” 29.64 Aries

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