Comet 260P/McNaught
Comet 260P/McNaught Position
Comet 260P/McNaught is currently in the constellation of Perseus. The current Right Ascension is 02h 49m 47s and the Declination is +45° 47’ 18”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 260P/McNaught is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 260P/McNaught is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 260P/McNaught?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 260P/McNaught in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 260P/McNaught Distance
The distance of Comet 260P/McNaught from Earth is currently 85,465,398 kilometers, equivalent to 0.571301 Astronomical Units. Light takes 4 minutes and 45.0819 seconds to travel from Comet 260P/McNaught and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 260P/McNaught 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 260P/McNaught from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 260P/McNaught to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 260P/McNaught to Earth happens on Fri Oct 4 2019 at a distance of 0.56219605 Astronomical Units, or 84,103,332 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 260P/McNaught brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 260P/McNaught is 13.82.
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 behvior 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 260P/McNaught, 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.
Comet 260P/McNaught rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet 260P/McNaught is circumpolar and transits at 01:12 UTC (altitude: 84.3°)
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 260P/McNaught touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 260P/McNaught Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 260P/McNaught at epoch 11 February 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455969.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.59349127 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 15.73543350° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.49722120 AU 223,981,104 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.86902250 AU 877,993,270 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.68312185 AU 550,987,187 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.0700 years 2,581.7998 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2012-Sep-12 12:05:20 2,456,183.0037 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2019-Oct-08 07:16 2,458,764.8035 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 15.679449323264° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 351.96477532627° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 330.22955155636° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13943761°/day |
Visualization of Comet 260P/McNaught Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 260P/McNaught with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 260P/McNaught 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!
View Comet 260P/McNaught in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 260P/McNaught 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 260P/McNaught computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 260P/McNaught in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Oct 09 | 02h 51m 34s | +42° 55’ 04” | 13.69 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 10 | 02h 51m 29s | +43° 21’ 05” | 13.71 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 11 | 02h 51m 20s | +43° 46’ 24” | 13.72 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 12 | 02h 51m 10s | +44° 11’ 00” | 13.74 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 13 | 02h 50m 56s | +44° 34’ 53” | 13.75 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 14 | 02h 50m 38s | +44° 58’ 00” | 13.77 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 15 | 02h 50m 17s | +45° 20’ 21” | 13.79 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 16 | 02h 49m 54s | +45° 41’ 57” | 13.81 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 17 | 02h 49m 27s | +46° 02’ 44” | 13.83 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 18 | 02h 48m 59s | +46° 22’ 44” | 13.85 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 19 | 02h 48m 28s | +46° 41’ 53” | 13.87 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 20 | 02h 47m 53s | +47° 00’ 15” | 13.89 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 21 | 02h 47m 17s | +47° 17’ 45” | 13.91 | Perseus |
| 2019 Oct 22 | 02h 46m 37s | +47° 34’ 27” | 13.93 | Perseus |