Comet 263P/Gibbs
Comet 263P/Gibbs is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 263P/Gibbs is 02h 14m 42s and the Declination is +04° 13’ 39” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 263P/Gibbs is 23.14 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 263P/Gibbs [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]:
- 263P/Gibbs is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 19° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 263P/Gibbs is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 263P/Gibbs Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 263P/Gibbs 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.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 263P/Gibbs is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 263P/Gibbs?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 263P/Gibbs in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 263P/Gibbs Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 263P/Gibbs from Earth is currently 534,020,168 kilometers, equivalent to 3.569704 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29 minutes and 41.2995 seconds to travel from Comet 263P/Gibbs and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 263P/Gibbs to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 263P/Gibbs to Earth happens on Sun Feb 2 2087 at a distance of 0.322639 Astronomical Units, or 48,266,060 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 263P/Gibbs brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 263P/Gibbs is 23.14.
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 263P/Gibbs, 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 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 263P/Gibbs at epoch 17 July 2007 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454299.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.58703263 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 14.47188951° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.25136966 AU 187,202,237 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.80901062 AU 719,417,751 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.03019014 AU 453,309,994 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.2749 years 1,926.6519 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2006-Dec-28 18:42:10 2,454,098.2793 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2012-Apr-07 10:20 2,456,024.9312 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 26.327813357634° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 113.34712739126° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 37.598621377231° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18685265°/day |
Visualization of Comet 263P/Gibbs Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 263P/Gibbs with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 263P/Gibbs 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 263P/Gibbs in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 263P/Gibbs 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 263P/Gibbs computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 263P/Gibbs in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 16 | 02h 03m 51s | +03° 17’ 59” | 23.22 | Pisces |
| 2022 May 17 | 02h 05m 20s | +03° 25’ 46” | 23.21 | Pisces |
| 2022 May 18 | 02h 06m 50s | +03° 33’ 32” | 23.20 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 19 | 02h 08m 18s | +03° 41’ 14” | 23.19 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 20 | 02h 09m 48s | +03° 48’ 56” | 23.17 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 21 | 02h 11m 18s | +03° 56’ 36” | 23.16 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 22 | 02h 12m 48s | +04° 04’ 14” | 23.15 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 23 | 02h 14m 20s | +04° 11’ 49” | 23.14 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 24 | 02h 15m 51s | +04° 19’ 23” | 23.13 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 25 | 02h 17m 21s | +04° 26’ 56” | 23.11 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 26 | 02h 18m 52s | +04° 34’ 26” | 23.10 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 27 | 02h 20m 25s | +04° 41’ 53” | 23.09 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 28 | 02h 21m 56s | +04° 49’ 19” | 23.07 | Cetus |
| 2022 May 29 | 02h 23m 27s | +04° 56’ 43” | 23.06 | Cetus |