Comet 284P/McNaught
Comet 284P/McNaught Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 284P/McNaught is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
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 behvior 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.
Comet 284P/McNaught Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 284P/McNaught rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Comet 284P/McNaught Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 284P/McNaught with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 284P/McNaught Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 284P/McNaught computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 284P/McNaught in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Oct 09 | 12h 23m 12s | +04° 03’ 28” | 25.06 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 10 | 12h 24m 02s | +03° 58’ 54” | 25.06 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 11 | 12h 24m 51s | +03° 54’ 21” | 25.06 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 12 | 12h 25m 41s | +03° 49’ 50” | 25.05 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 13 | 12h 26m 31s | +03° 45’ 20” | 25.05 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 14 | 12h 27m 21s | +03° 40’ 51” | 25.05 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 15 | 12h 28m 12s | +03° 36’ 24” | 25.04 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 16 | 12h 29m 02s | +03° 31’ 59” | 25.04 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 17 | 12h 29m 52s | +03° 27’ 34” | 25.03 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 18 | 12h 30m 42s | +03° 23’ 12” | 25.03 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 19 | 12h 31m 32s | +03° 18’ 51” | 25.03 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 20 | 12h 32m 21s | +03° 14’ 30” | 25.02 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 21 | 12h 33m 11s | +03° 10’ 14” | 25.02 | Virgo |
| 2018 Oct 22 | 12h 34m 00s | +03° 05’ 57” | 25.01 | Virgo |
Distance of Comet 284P/McNaught from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 284P/McNaught from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 284P/McNaught is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 284P/McNaught
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 284P/McNaught, 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 284P/McNaught Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 284P/McNaught at epoch 12 April 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455299.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.37831446 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.87431520° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.28252287 AU 341,460,562 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.06049131 AU 757,038,726 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.67150709 AU 549,249,644 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.0400 years 2,569.5968 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2007-Aug-18 04:18:49 2,454,330.6797 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2014-Aug-30 18:38 2,456,900.2765 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 202.75781227769° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 144.36420051979° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 135.73152572942° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14009980°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2042-Aug-29 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.14182091 AU 170,813,978 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.