Comet 261P/Larson
Comet 261P/Larson is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 261P/Larson is 11h 57m 09s and the Declination is -04° 49’ 28” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson is 30.24 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 261P/Larson [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 261P/Larson is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 29° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 261P/Larson is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 261P/Larson rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet 261P/Larson available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 261P/Larson Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 261P/Larson finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
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 889,068,588 kilometers, equivalent to 5.943056 Astronomical Units. Light takes 49 minutes and 25.6136 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 1.072410 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
The current visual magnitude of Comet 261P/Larson is 30.24.
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 behavior 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, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric 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 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 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Sep 28 | 11h 51m 06s | -04° 08’ 04” | 30.25 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 29 | 11h 51m 56s | -04° 13’ 32” | 30.25 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 30 | 11h 52m 44s | -04° 19’ 01” | 30.25 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 01 | 11h 53m 31s | -04° 24’ 30” | 30.25 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 02 | 11h 54m 20s | -04° 30’ 01” | 30.25 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 03 | 11h 55m 08s | -04° 35’ 30” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 04 | 11h 55m 55s | -04° 40’ 59” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 05 | 11h 56m 44s | -04° 46’ 30” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 06 | 11h 57m 32s | -04° 52’ 00” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 07 | 11h 58m 19s | -04° 57’ 30” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 08 | 11h 59m 08s | -05° 03’ 01” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 09 | 11h 59m 54s | -05° 08’ 31” | 30.24 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 10 | 12h 00m 42s | -05° 14’ 02” | 30.23 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 11 | 12h 01m 30s | -05° 19’ 32” | 30.23 | Virgo |