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public  Fenchen, China Fenchen, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:21 
Transit: 12:30 
Sunset: 19:39
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Comets » 

Comet 32P/Comas Sola

Above the horizon.  Rise: 13:36 | Tran: 19:14 | Set: 0:52
Alt: 29.48°   Az: 123.99°   Direction: South-East

Comet 32P/Comas Sola is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 532,166,333.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 13h 39m 33s and the Declination is -07° 23’ 27” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 32P/Comas Sola, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 20.12).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 32P/Comas Sola in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 32P/Comas Sola in the constellation of Virgo on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 32P/Comas Sola in the constellation of Virgo on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 32P/Comas Sola against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

32P/Comas Sola
RA: 13h 38m 13s
Dec: -07° 15’ 42”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 32P/Comas Sola. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

13h 39m 33s
-07° 23’ 27”
20h 53m 09s
10h 32m 42s

J2000

13h 38m 13s
-07° 15’ 42”

Additional Information

Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.12

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 32P/Comas Sola from Fenchen, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 97.4°
Max altitude: 48.6°
Azimuth: 262.6°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 32P/Comas Sola from Earth is currently 532,166,333.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.5573122165 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29m 35.116s to travel from comet 32P/Comas Sola and arrive to us.

532,166,333.0
3.5573122165
29m 35.116s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 32P/Comas Sola from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 32P/Comas Sola from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 32P/Comas Sola from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 32P/Comas Sola to Earth will happen on Sunday 15 January 2073 at a distance of 1.054585 Astronomical Units, or 157,763,655 kilometers:

Sunday 15 January 2073
157,763,655
1.054585

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 32P/Comas Sola, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 32P/Comas Sola as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 32P/Comas Sola at epoch October, 12 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458769.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.55643350
Orbit inclination i 9.94718421°
Perihelion distance q 1.99582923 AU
298,571,804 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.00317862 AU
1,047,660,612 km
Semi-major axis a 4.49950393 AU
673,116,208 km
Orbital period period 9.5445 years
3,486.1445 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp May 2, 2024
2,460,432.8516 JD
Next perihelion transit November 17, 2033
2,463,918.9961 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 53.287153644999°
Longitude of the ascending node node 57.69384588407°
Mean anomaly M 188.23242628691°
Mean motion n 0.10326594°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 32P/Comas Sola relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 32P/Comas Sola computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jun 27 2025 13h 38m 07s -06° 59’ 18” 19.99 Virgo
Jun 28 2025 13h 38m 16s -07° 02’ 23” 20.00 Virgo
Jun 29 2025 13h 38m 26s -07° 05’ 32” 20.02 Virgo
Jun 30 2025 13h 38m 37s -07° 08’ 45” 20.04 Virgo
Jul 01 2025 13h 38m 48s -07° 12’ 02” 20.06 Virgo
Jul 02 2025 13h 39m 01s -07° 15’ 23” 20.08 Virgo
Jul 03 2025 13h 39m 14s -07° 18’ 47” 20.10 Virgo
Jul 04 2025 13h 39m 28s -07° 22’ 15” 20.11 Virgo
Jul 05 2025 13h 39m 43s -07° 25’ 46” 20.13 Virgo
Jul 06 2025 13h 39m 59s -07° 29’ 22” 20.15 Virgo
Jul 07 2025 13h 40m 16s -07° 33’ 01” 20.17 Virgo
Jul 08 2025 13h 40m 33s -07° 36’ 42” 20.19 Virgo
Jul 09 2025 13h 40m 52s -07° 40’ 28” 20.21 Virgo
Jul 10 2025 13h 41m 11s -07° 44’ 16” 20.22 Virgo

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