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Sunset: 17:00
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Comets » 

Comet 261P/Larson

Below the horizon.  Rise: 5:40 | Tran: 9:09 | Set: 12:38
Alt: -50.94°   Az: 295.88°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 261P/Larson is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 546,372,569.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 18h 21m 17s and the Declination is -25° 51’ 37” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson is 23.33 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 261P/Larson in Sagittarius on February, 07 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 261P/Larson in Sagittarius on February, 07 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 261P/Larson is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

261P/Larson
RA: 18h 19m 44s
Dec: -25° 52’ 22”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 261P/Larson. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

18h 21m 17s
-25° 51’ 37”
09h 23m 46s
03h 45m 04s

J2000

18h 19m 44s
-25° 52’ 22”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.33

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 261P/Larson from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 115.9°
Max altitude: 12.7°
Azimuth: 244.1°
  • 261P/Larson is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 261P/Larson 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 261P/Larson from Earth is currently 546,372,569.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.6522750387 Astronomical Units. Light takes 30m 22.503s to travel from Comet 261P/Larson and arrive to us.

546,372,569.0
3.6522750387
30m 22.503s

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 261P/Larson 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 261P/Larson from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 261P/Larson to Earth happens on Sat Sep 1 2091 at a distance of 1.072410 Astronomical Units, or 160,430,263 kilometers:

Sat Sep 1 2091
160,430,263
1.072410

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

Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 261P/Larson at epoch 09 February 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456698.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.39187691
Orbit inclination i 6.33654627°
Perihelion distance q 2.18415099 AU
326,744,338 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.99910192 AU
747,855,004 km
Semi-major axis a 3.59162646 AU
537,299,671 km
Orbital period period 6.8068 years
2,486.1949 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2012-Sep-30 02:25:52
2,456,200.6013 JD
Next perihelion transit 2019-Jul-22 07:06
2,458,686.7962 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 58.97020034636°
Longitude of the ascending node node 298.42573157465°
Mean anomaly M 72.095526584882°
Mean motion n 0.14479959°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 261P/Larson
View Comet 261P/Larson in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Jan 31 18h 08m 51s -25° 59’ 36” 23.52 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 01 18h 10m 28s -25° 58’ 46” 23.49 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 02 18h 12m 04s -25° 57’ 53” 23.47 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 03 18h 13m 40s -25° 56’ 56” 23.45 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 04 18h 15m 17s -25° 55’ 56” 23.42 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 05 18h 16m 52s -25° 54’ 52” 23.40 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 06 18h 18m 28s -25° 53’ 45” 23.37 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 07 18h 20m 04s -25° 52’ 34” 23.35 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 08 18h 21m 39s -25° 51’ 20” 23.32 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 09 18h 23m 15s -25° 50’ 01” 23.30 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 10 18h 24m 50s -25° 48’ 40” 23.27 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 11 18h 26m 25s -25° 47’ 15” 23.25 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 12 18h 28m 00s -25° 45’ 46” 23.22 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 13 18h 29m 34s -25° 44’ 15” 23.20 Sagittarius

Additional Resources