Comet 261P/Larson

Comet 261P/Larson is currently in the constellation of Virgo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 261P/Larson is 14h 14m 47s and the Declination is -18° 57’ 31” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson is 28.72 (JPL).

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 261P/Larson from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 261P/Larson?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 261P/Larson from Earth?)
• When does Comet 261P/Larson rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 261P/Larson?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 261P/Larson orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 261P/Larson with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 261P/Larson in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 261P/Larson with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher 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.

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 from Earth

The distance of Comet 261P/Larson from Earth is currently 782,033,766 kilometers, equivalent to 5.227573 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43 minutes and 28.5839 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, 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:

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

Comet 261P/Larson Brightness and 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.

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!

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
2023 Nov 29	14h 07m 51s	-18° 18’ 56”	28.80	Virgo
2023 Nov 30	14h 08m 47s	-18° 24’ 02”	28.79	Virgo
2023 Dec 01	14h 09m 41s	-18° 29’ 08”	28.78	Virgo
2023 Dec 02	14h 10m 36s	-18° 34’ 12”	28.77	Virgo
2023 Dec 03	14h 11m 30s	-18° 39’ 15”	28.76	Virgo
2023 Dec 04	14h 12m 24s	-18° 44’ 17”	28.75	Virgo
2023 Dec 05	14h 13m 18s	-18° 49’ 18”	28.74	Virgo
2023 Dec 06	14h 14m 12s	-18° 54’ 18”	28.73	Virgo
2023 Dec 07	14h 15m 06s	-18° 59’ 17”	28.72	Virgo
2023 Dec 08	14h 16m 00s	-19° 04’ 14”	28.71	Virgo
2023 Dec 09	14h 16m 54s	-19° 09’ 11”	28.69	Virgo
2023 Dec 10	14h 17m 48s	-19° 14’ 07”	28.68	Virgo
2023 Dec 11	14h 18m 41s	-19° 19’ 00”	28.67	Virgo
2023 Dec 12	14h 19m 33s	-19° 23’ 53”	28.66	Virgo