Comet 261P/Larson
Comet 261P/Larson Position
Comet 261P/Larson is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension is 03h 43m 51s and the Declination is +29° 13’ 46”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 261P/Larson 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 261P/Larson is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 261P/Larson?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 261P/Larson in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 261P/Larson Distance
The distance of Comet 261P/Larson from Earth is currently 199,879,015 kilometers, equivalent to 1.336109 Astronomical Units. Light takes 11 minutes and 6.7246 seconds to travel from Comet 261P/Larson and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 261P/Larson 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 261P/Larson from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 261P/Larson to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 261P/Larson to Earth happens on Sat Sep 1 2091 at a distance of 1.07274727 Astronomical Units, or 160,480,708 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 261P/Larson brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson is 17.78.
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 261P/Larson, 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 261P/Larson rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 261P/Larson rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 261P/Larson 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 261P/Larson Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 261P/Larson at epoch 20 February 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455613.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.38973095 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.32331829° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.18803958 AU 327,326,062 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.98269790 AU 745,400,997 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.58536874 AU 536,363,530 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.7900 years 2,479.7001 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2012-Sep-28 20:51:52 2,456,199.3694 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2019-Jul-14 13:40 2,458,679.0695 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 58.704958957422° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 298.49842288275° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 274.94416362815° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14517884°/day |
Visualization of Comet 261P/Larson Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 261P/Larson with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 261P/Larson 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 261P/Larson in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 261P/Larson 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 261P/Larson computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 261P/Larson in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Oct 14 | 03h 46m 54s | +29° 16’ 58” | 17.69 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 15 | 03h 46m 35s | +29° 17’ 04” | 17.70 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 16 | 03h 46m 13s | +29° 17’ 02” | 17.71 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 17 | 03h 45m 50s | +29° 16’ 46” | 17.73 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 18 | 03h 45m 24s | +29° 16’ 22” | 17.74 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 19 | 03h 44m 57s | +29° 15’ 44” | 17.75 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 20 | 03h 44m 27s | +29° 14’ 57” | 17.77 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 21 | 03h 43m 56s | +29° 13’ 58” | 17.78 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 22 | 03h 43m 23s | +29° 12’ 47” | 17.79 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 23 | 03h 42m 48s | +29° 11’ 25” | 17.81 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 24 | 03h 42m 12s | +29° 09’ 51” | 17.82 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 25 | 03h 41m 35s | +29° 08’ 04” | 17.84 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 26 | 03h 40m 55s | +29° 06’ 07” | 17.85 | Taurus |
| 2019 Oct 27 | 03h 40m 14s | +29° 03’ 59” | 17.87 | Taurus |