Comet 284P/McNaught
Comet 284P/McNaught is currently in the constellation of Orion. The current Right Ascension of Comet 284P/McNaught is 06h 13m 47s and the Declination is +16° 15’ 25” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 284P/McNaught is 22.69 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 284P/McNaught from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 284P/McNaught is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 284P/McNaught is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 284P/McNaught Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 284P/McNaught?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 284P/McNaught in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 284P/McNaught Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 284P/McNaught from Earth is currently 577,856,545 kilometers, equivalent to 3.862732 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 7.5220 seconds to travel from Comet 284P/McNaught and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 284P/McNaught to Earth
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 284P/McNaught to Earth happens on Sun Oct 8 2090 at a distance of 1.020509 Astronomical Units, or 152,665,955 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 284P/McNaught Brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 284P/McNaught is 22.69.
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 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 04 October 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456570.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.37696784 |
Orbit inclination | i | 11.86209134° |
Perihelion distance | q | 2.28921595 AU 342,461,832 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
5.05941255 AU 756,877,345 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
3.67431425 AU 549,669,589 km |
Orbital period | period |
7.0432 years 2,572.5444 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Sep-02 12:09:45 2,456,903.0068 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2021-Sep-18 01:13 2,459,475.5511 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 202.87158087445° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 144.29768321929° |
Mean anomaly | M | 313.46924253121° |
Mean motion | n | 0.13993928°/day |
Visualization of Comet 284P/McNaught Orbit
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 15 Days 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Mar 22 | 06h 09m 56s | +15° 55’ 33” | 22.57 | Orion |
2023 Mar 23 | 06h 10m 26s | +15° 58’ 27” | 22.59 | Orion |
2023 Mar 24 | 06h 10m 57s | +16° 01’ 18” | 22.60 | Orion |
2023 Mar 25 | 06h 11m 27s | +16° 04’ 05” | 22.62 | Orion |
2023 Mar 26 | 06h 12m 00s | +16° 06’ 52” | 22.64 | Orion |
2023 Mar 27 | 06h 12m 33s | +16° 09’ 37” | 22.65 | Orion |
2023 Mar 28 | 06h 13m 06s | +16° 12’ 19” | 22.67 | Orion |
2023 Mar 29 | 06h 13m 41s | +16° 14’ 57” | 22.69 | Orion |
2023 Mar 30 | 06h 14m 17s | +16° 17’ 35” | 22.71 | Orion |
2023 Mar 31 | 06h 14m 53s | +16° 20’ 09” | 22.72 | Orion |
2023 Apr 01 | 06h 15m 29s | +16° 22’ 41” | 22.74 | Orion |
2023 Apr 02 | 06h 16m 06s | +16° 25’ 10” | 22.75 | Orion |
2023 Apr 03 | 06h 16m 45s | +16° 27’ 38” | 22.77 | Orion |
2023 Apr 04 | 06h 17m 24s | +16° 30’ 02” | 22.79 | Orion |