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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: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 294P/LINEAR

Altitude: -8.0°   Azimuth: 339.2°   Direction: North-North-West

Comet 294P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Andromeda.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 294P/LINEAR is 00h 46m 52s and the Declination is +27° 50’ 42” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 294P/LINEAR is 23.73 (JPL).

00h 46m 52s
+27° 50’ 42”
Andromeda
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.73

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 294P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 62.2°
Max altitude: 66.3°
Azimuth: 297.9°
  • 294P/LINEAR is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 294P/LINEAR 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 294P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 294P/LINEAR 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 294P/LINEAR in Andromeda on December,01 2023
Map showing Comet 294P/LINEAR in Andromeda on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 294P/LINEAR
Map showing Comet 294P/LINEAR in Andromeda on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 294P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

294P/LINEAR
RA: 00h 46m 52s
Dec: +27° 50’ 42”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 294P/LINEAR
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 294P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 294P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 294P/LINEAR Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 294P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 566,706,551 kilometers, equivalent to 3.788199 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 30.3296 seconds to travel from Comet 294P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

566,706,551
3.788199
31 minutes and 30.3296 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 294P/LINEAR 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 294P/LINEAR 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 294P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 294P/LINEAR to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 294P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Wed Mar 4 2048 at a distance of 0.344815 Astronomical Units, or 51,583,573 kilometers:

Wed Mar 4 2048
51,583,573
0.344815

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

Comet 294P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 294P/LINEAR, 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 294P/LINEAR as a function of time

Comet 294P/LINEAR Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 294P/LINEAR at epoch 13 September 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455453.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.59860596
Orbit inclination i 18.54176445°
Perihelion distance q 1.28220736 AU
191,815,492 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.10656389 AU
763,931,087 km
Semi-major axis a 3.19438563 AU
477,873,289 km
Orbital period period 5.7094 years
2,085.3523 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2008-Jun-16 14:43:49
2,454,634.1138 JD
Next perihelion transit 2014-Mar-02 23:11
2,456,719.4661 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 234.16864652874°
Longitude of the ascending node node 314.33829985946°
Mean anomaly M 141.45285574588°
Mean motion n 0.17263270°/day

Visualization of Comet 294P/LINEAR Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 294P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 294P/LINEAR 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 294P/LINEAR
View Comet 294P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 294P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 294P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 294P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 24 00h 49m 42s +28° 33’ 51” 23.71 Pisces
2023 Nov 25 00h 49m 17s +28° 27’ 50” 23.71 Andromeda
2023 Nov 26 00h 48m 51s +28° 21’ 51” 23.71 Andromeda
2023 Nov 27 00h 48m 25s +28° 15’ 52” 23.71 Andromeda
2023 Nov 28 00h 48m 02s +28° 09’ 56” 23.72 Andromeda
2023 Nov 29 00h 47m 39s +28° 04’ 02” 23.72 Andromeda
2023 Nov 30 00h 47m 18s +27° 58’ 09” 23.72 Andromeda
2023 Dec 01 00h 46m 58s +27° 52’ 19” 23.73 Andromeda
2023 Dec 02 00h 46m 38s +27° 46’ 32” 23.73 Andromeda
2023 Dec 03 00h 46m 19s +27° 40’ 46” 23.73 Andromeda
2023 Dec 04 00h 46m 02s +27° 35’ 04” 23.74 Andromeda
2023 Dec 05 00h 45m 47s +27° 29’ 26” 23.74 Andromeda
2023 Dec 06 00h 45m 32s +27° 23’ 51” 23.74 Andromeda
2023 Dec 07 00h 45m 18s +27° 18’ 19” 23.75 Andromeda