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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 284P/McNaught

Altitude: -2.6°   Azimuth: 68.9°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 284P/McNaught is currently in the constellation of Leo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 284P/McNaught is 09h 41m 37s and the Declination is +10° 53’ 50” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 284P/McNaught is 24.13 (JPL).

09h 41m 37s
+10° 53’ 50”
Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.13

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted 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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 284P/McNaught from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 79.1°
Max altitude: 49.4°
Azimuth: 280.9°
  • 284P/McNaught is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 284P/McNaught is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Available Resources

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.

Finder chart of 284P/McNaught in Leo on December,03 2023
Map showing Comet 284P/McNaught in Leo on December, 03 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 284P/McNaught
Map showing Comet 284P/McNaught in Leo on December, 03 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

284P/McNaught
RA: 09h 41m 37s
Dec: +10° 53’ 50”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 284P/McNaught
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 624,741,738 kilometers, equivalent to 4.176141 Astronomical Units. Light takes 34 minutes and 43.9141 seconds to travel from Comet 284P/McNaught and arrive to us.

624,741,738
4.176141
34 minutes and 43.9141 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 284P/McNaught from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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:

Sun Oct 8 2090
152,665,955
1.020509

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet 284P/McNaught Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 284P/McNaught as a function of time

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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 284P/McNaught
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 Nov 26 09h 40m 46s +10° 54’ 08” 24.16 Leo
2023 Nov 27 09h 40m 55s +10° 53’ 49” 24.15 Leo
2023 Nov 28 09h 41m 04s +10° 53’ 35” 24.15 Leo
2023 Nov 29 09h 41m 12s +10° 53’ 26” 24.15 Leo
2023 Nov 30 09h 41m 18s +10° 53’ 22” 24.14 Leo
2023 Dec 01 09h 41m 25s +10° 53’ 24” 24.14 Leo
2023 Dec 02 09h 41m 30s +10° 53’ 29” 24.14 Leo
2023 Dec 03 09h 41m 34s +10° 53’ 39” 24.13 Leo
2023 Dec 04 09h 41m 38s +10° 53’ 53” 24.13 Leo
2023 Dec 05 09h 41m 39s +10° 54’ 14” 24.13 Leo
2023 Dec 06 09h 41m 42s +10° 54’ 38” 24.13 Leo
2023 Dec 07 09h 41m 42s +10° 55’ 09” 24.12 Leo
2023 Dec 08 09h 41m 42s +10° 55’ 45” 24.12 Leo
2023 Dec 09 09h 41m 40s +10° 56’ 25” 24.12 Leo