Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma is currently in the constellation of Libra.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma is 15h 31m 08s and the Declination is -10° 56’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma is 27.54 (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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma from Earth?)
• When does Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma from Earth is currently 1,998,923,245 kilometers, equivalent to 13.361977 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 51 minutes and 7.6902 seconds to travel from Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma to Earth happens on Mon Dec 17 2018 at a distance of 0.765727 Astronomical Units, or 114,551,111 kilometers:

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

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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 38P/Stephan-Oterma 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Dec 01	15h 28m 49s	-10° 48’ 24”	27.53	Libra
2023 Dec 02	15h 29m 08s	-10° 49’ 36”	27.53	Libra
2023 Dec 03	15h 29m 26s	-10° 50’ 45”	27.53	Libra
2023 Dec 04	15h 29m 45s	-10° 51’ 55”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 05	15h 30m 05s	-10° 53’ 03”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 06	15h 30m 24s	-10° 54’ 10”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 07	15h 30m 42s	-10° 55’ 15”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 08	15h 31m 01s	-10° 56’ 21”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 09	15h 31m 19s	-10° 57’ 24”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 10	15h 31m 38s	-10° 58’ 27”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 11	15h 31m 57s	-10° 59’ 29”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 12	15h 32m 14s	-11° 00’ 29”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 13	15h 32m 34s	-11° 01’ 28”	27.54	Libra
2023 Dec 14	15h 32m 52s	-11° 02’ 26”	27.54	Libra