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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:02  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:32 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet 378P/McNaught

Altitude: 22.0°   Azimuth: 248.9°   Direction: West-South-West

Comet 378P/McNaught is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 378P/McNaught is 03h 53m 01s and the Declination is +04° 50’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 378P/McNaught is 19.79 (JPL).

03h 53m 01s
+04° 50’ 47”
Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.79

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 378P/McNaught from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 85.2°
Max altitude: 43.4°
Azimuth: 274.8°
  • 378P/McNaught is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 22° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 378P/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 378P/McNaught Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 378P/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 378P/McNaught in Taurus on October,03 2023
Map showing Comet 378P/McNaught in Taurus on October, 03 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 378P/McNaught
Map showing Comet 378P/McNaught in Taurus on October, 03 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 378P/McNaught is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

378P/McNaught
RA: 03h 53m 01s
Dec: +04° 50’ 47”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 378P/McNaught
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 378P/McNaught?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 378P/McNaught in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 378P/McNaught Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 378P/McNaught from Earth is currently 871,068,427 kilometers, equivalent to 5.822733 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 25.5715 seconds to travel from Comet 378P/McNaught and arrive to us.

871,068,427
5.822733
48 minutes and 25.5715 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 378P/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 378P/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 378P/McNaught from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 378P/McNaught to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 378P/McNaught to Earth happens on Fri Jul 11 2036 at a distance of 2.340041 Astronomical Units, or 350,065,212 kilometers:

Fri Jul 11 2036
350,065,212
2.340041

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

Comet 378P/McNaught Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 378P/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 378P/McNaught as a function of time

Comet 378P/McNaught Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 378P/McNaught at epoch 08 November 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458431.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.46695798
Orbit inclination i 19.10950608°
Perihelion distance q 3.37937081 AU
505,546,679 km
Aphelion distance Q 9.30019544 AU
1,391,289,438 km
Semi-major axis a 6.33978313 AU
948,418,059 km
Orbital period period 15.9632 years
5,830.5568 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-Oct-22 15:10:23
2,459,145.1322 JD
Next perihelion transit 2036-Oct-09 04:32
2,464,975.6890 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 194.31681160431°
Longitude of the ascending node node 94.519421559834°
Mean anomaly M 315.93772468774°
Mean motion n 0.06174367°/day

Visualization of Comet 378P/McNaught Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 378P/McNaught with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 378P/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 378P/McNaught
View Comet 378P/McNaught in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 378P/McNaught 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 378P/McNaught computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 378P/McNaught in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 26 03h 54m 29s +05° 03’ 27” 19.81 Taurus
2023 Sep 27 03h 54m 20s +05° 01’ 45” 19.80 Taurus
2023 Sep 28 03h 54m 08s +05° 00’ 02” 19.80 Taurus
2023 Sep 29 03h 53m 57s +04° 58’ 18” 19.80 Taurus
2023 Sep 30 03h 53m 45s +04° 56’ 35” 19.80 Taurus
2023 Oct 01 03h 53m 33s +04° 54’ 50” 19.80 Taurus
2023 Oct 02 03h 53m 20s +04° 53’ 04” 19.79 Taurus
2023 Oct 03 03h 53m 05s +04° 51’ 20” 19.79 Taurus
2023 Oct 04 03h 52m 50s +04° 49’ 35” 19.79 Taurus
2023 Oct 05 03h 52m 36s +04° 47’ 48” 19.79 Taurus
2023 Oct 06 03h 52m 21s +04° 46’ 04” 19.78 Taurus
2023 Oct 07 03h 52m 05s +04° 44’ 17” 19.78 Taurus
2023 Oct 08 03h 51m 47s +04° 42’ 32” 19.78 Taurus
2023 Oct 09 03h 51m 30s +04° 40’ 46” 19.78 Taurus