Comet 287P/Christensen

Comet 287P/Christensen is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 287P/Christensen is 22h 47m 21s and the Declination is -18° 40’ 43” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 287P/Christensen is 18.17 (JPL).

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 287P/Christensen from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 287P/Christensen?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 287P/Christensen from Earth?)
• When does Comet 287P/Christensen rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 287P/Christensen?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 287P/Christensen orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 287P/Christensen with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 287P/Christensen for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 287P/Christensen in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 287P/Christensen with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 287P/Christensen is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 287P/Christensen?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 287P/Christensen in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 287P/Christensen Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 287P/Christensen from Earth is currently 318,798,196 kilometers, equivalent to 2.131034 Astronomical Units. Light takes 17 minutes and 43.3963 seconds to travel from Comet 287P/Christensen and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 287P/Christensen 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 287P/Christensen from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 287P/Christensen to Earth

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 287P/Christensen to Earth happens on Thu Aug 31 2023 at a distance of 2.046697 Astronomical Units, or 306,181,458 kilometers:

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

Comet 287P/Christensen Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 287P/Christensen, 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.

Visualization of Comet 287P/Christensen Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 287P/Christensen with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 287P/Christensen 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!

Comet 287P/Christensen 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 287P/Christensen computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 287P/Christensen in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 17	22h 50m 49s	-17° 55’ 05”	18.11	Aquarius
2023 Sep 18	22h 50m 20s	-18° 01’ 50”	18.12	Aquarius
2023 Sep 19	22h 49m 50s	-18° 08’ 25”	18.13	Aquarius
2023 Sep 20	22h 49m 21s	-18° 14’ 49”	18.14	Aquarius
2023 Sep 21	22h 48m 51s	-18° 21’ 05”	18.14	Aquarius
2023 Sep 22	22h 48m 24s	-18° 27’ 10”	18.15	Aquarius
2023 Sep 23	22h 47m 56s	-18° 33’ 03”	18.16	Aquarius
2023 Sep 24	22h 47m 30s	-18° 38’ 47”	18.17	Aquarius
2023 Sep 25	22h 47m 03s	-18° 44’ 20”	18.18	Aquarius
2023 Sep 26	22h 46m 38s	-18° 49’ 41”	18.19	Aquarius
2023 Sep 27	22h 46m 14s	-18° 54’ 52”	18.20	Aquarius
2023 Sep 28	22h 45m 51s	-18° 59’ 53”	18.21	Aquarius
2023 Sep 29	22h 45m 29s	-19° 04’ 41”	18.21	Aquarius
2023 Sep 30	22h 45m 06s	-19° 09’ 19”	18.23	Aquarius