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Comets » 

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma

Above the horizon.  Rise: 16:34 | Tran: 21:32 | Set: 2:34
Alt: 14.26°   Az: 130.98°   Direction: South-East

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 2,074,497,736.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 32m 57s and the Declination is -11° 43’ 32” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 28.35).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in the constellation of Libra 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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.

38P/Stephan-Oterma
RA: 15h 31m 33s
Dec: -11° 38’ 24”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 32m 57s
-11° 43’ 32”
20h 46m 35s
12h 19m 33s

J2000

15h 31m 33s
-11° 38’ 24”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
28.35

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 38P/Stephan-Oterma from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 101.7°
Max altitude: 26.8°
Azimuth: 258.3°

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 38P/Stephan-Oterma from Earth is currently 2,074,497,736.0 kilometers, equivalent to 13.8671608512 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 55m 19.780s to travel from comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma and arrive to us.

2,074,497,736.0
13.8671608512
1h 55m 19.780s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma to Earth happened on Monday 17 December 2018 at a distance of 0.765727 Astronomical Units, or 114,551,108 kilometers:

Monday 17 December 2018
114,551,108
0.765727

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 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma at epoch May, 27 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458266.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.85928734
Orbit inclination i 18.35295008°
Perihelion distance q 1.58850911 AU
237,637,581 km
Aphelion distance Q 20.98954679 AU
3,139,991,513 km
Semi-major axis a 11.28902795 AU
1,688,814,547 km
Orbital period period 37.9309 years
13,854.2573 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp November 10, 2018
2,458,433.4871 JD
Next perihelion transit October 16, 2056
2,472,287.7444 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 359.58851167059°
Longitude of the ascending node node 78.000299016178°
Mean anomaly M 355.66087469768°
Mean motion n 0.02598479°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 29 2025 15h 34m 13s -11° 43’ 47” 28.32 Libra
Jun 30 2025 15h 34m 02s -11° 43’ 41” 28.33 Libra
Jul 01 2025 15h 33m 52s -11° 43’ 37” 28.33 Libra
Jul 02 2025 15h 33m 42s -11° 43’ 33” 28.33 Libra
Jul 03 2025 15h 33m 32s -11° 43’ 30” 28.34 Libra
Jul 04 2025 15h 33m 22s -11° 43’ 30” 28.34 Libra
Jul 05 2025 15h 33m 13s -11° 43’ 29” 28.34 Libra
Jul 06 2025 15h 33m 04s -11° 43’ 30” 28.35 Libra
Jul 07 2025 15h 32m 55s -11° 43’ 32” 28.35 Libra
Jul 08 2025 15h 32m 46s -11° 43’ 36” 28.35 Libra
Jul 09 2025 15h 32m 38s -11° 43’ 39” 28.36 Libra
Jul 10 2025 15h 32m 30s -11° 43’ 45” 28.36 Libra
Jul 11 2025 15h 32m 22s -11° 43’ 51” 28.36 Libra
Jul 12 2025 15h 32m 14s -11° 43’ 59” 28.37 Libra

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