Latest Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is currently in the constellation of Aries. The current Right Ascension of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is 02h 19m 55s and the Declination is +13° 11’ 55” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is 28.67 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup [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]:
- 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East direction at an altitude of 9° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup from Earth is currently 882,778,455 kilometers, equivalent to 5.901009 Astronomical Units. Light takes 49 minutes and 4.6320 seconds to travel from Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup to Earth happens on Thu Apr 15 2083 at a distance of 0.307409 Astronomical Units, or 45,987,677 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup is 28.67.
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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup at epoch 13 August 2007 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454326.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.63305277 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.35649066° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.11673632 AU 167,061,377 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.96989534 AU 743,485,762 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.04331583 AU 455,273,570 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.3100 years 1,939.1838 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2008-Mar-23 16:17:47 2,454,549.1790 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2013-Jul-14 20:42 2,456,488.3628 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 1.7040707812696° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 211.71031963767° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 318.66072595° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18564512°/day |
Visualization of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 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 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 08 | 02h 14m 08s | +12° 50’ 27” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 09 | 02h 14m 56s | +12° 53’ 30” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 10 | 02h 15m 45s | +12° 56’ 33” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 11 | 02h 16m 32s | +12° 59’ 32” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 12 | 02h 17m 21s | +13° 02’ 33” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 13 | 02h 18m 10s | +13° 05’ 30” | 28.68 | Aries |
| 2021 May 14 | 02h 18m 57s | +13° 08’ 26” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 15 | 02h 19m 45s | +13° 11’ 22” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 16 | 02h 20m 34s | +13° 14’ 16” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 17 | 02h 21m 21s | +13° 17’ 08” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 18 | 02h 22m 09s | +13° 19’ 59” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 19 | 02h 22m 56s | +13° 22’ 50” | 28.67 | Aries |
| 2021 May 20 | 02h 23m 44s | +13° 25’ 37” | 28.66 | Aries |
| 2021 May 21 | 02h 24m 32s | +13° 28’ 23” | 28.66 | Aries |