Comet 284P/McNaught
Comet 284P/McNaught is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 284P/McNaught is 03h 51m 40s and the Declination is +11° 14’ 55” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 284P/McNaught is 19.87 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 284P/McNaught [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]:
- 284P/McNaught is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 49° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 284P/McNaught is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught available on TheSkyLive:
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 570,897,356 kilometers, equivalent to 3.816213 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 44.3086 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 January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 284P/McNaught to Earth happens on Sun Oct 8 2090 at a distance of 1.020512 Astronomical Units, or 152,666,411 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 19.87.
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 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 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught 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 284P/McNaught Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 284P/McNaught at epoch 25 September 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456561.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.37697280 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.86203391° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.28920628 AU 342,460,386 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.05944965 AU 756,882,896 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.67432797 AU 549,671,641 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.0433 years 2,572.5588 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Sep-02 12:08:21 2,456,903.0058 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Sep-18 01:32 2,459,475.5646 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 202.87140750799° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 144.29801393128° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 312.2101913577° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13993849°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 12 | 03h 39m 05s | +10° 32’ 20” | 19.77 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 13 | 03h 40m 45s | +10° 38’ 14” | 19.78 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 14 | 03h 42m 25s | +10° 44’ 05” | 19.80 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 15 | 03h 44m 07s | +10° 49’ 51” | 19.81 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 16 | 03h 45m 47s | +10° 55’ 32” | 19.82 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 17 | 03h 47m 26s | +11° 01’ 08” | 19.83 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 18 | 03h 49m 06s | +11° 06’ 38” | 19.85 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 19 | 03h 50m 47s | +11° 12’ 06” | 19.86 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 20 | 03h 52m 27s | +11° 17’ 26” | 19.87 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 21 | 03h 54m 06s | +11° 22’ 44” | 19.88 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 22 | 03h 55m 45s | +11° 27’ 55” | 19.89 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 23 | 03h 57m 25s | +11° 33’ 02” | 19.91 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 24 | 03h 59m 05s | +11° 38’ 03” | 19.92 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 25 | 04h 00m 45s | +11° 43’ 00” | 19.93 | Taurus |