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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 398P/Boattini

Altitude: -28.7°   Azimuth: 277.1°   Direction: West

Comet 398P/Boattini is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 398P/Boattini is 17h 53m 02s and the Declination is -17° 58’ 46” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 398P/Boattini is 26.42 (JPL).

17h 53m 02s
-17° 58’ 46”
Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
26.42

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 398P/Boattini from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 108.0°
Max altitude: 20.5°
Azimuth: 252.0°
  • 398P/Boattini is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 398P/Boattini 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 398P/Boattini Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 398P/Boattini 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 398P/Boattini in Sagittarius on December,03 2023
Map showing Comet 398P/Boattini in Sagittarius on December, 03 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 398P/Boattini
Map showing Comet 398P/Boattini in Sagittarius on December, 03 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 398P/Boattini is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

398P/Boattini
RA: 17h 53m 02s
Dec: -17° 58’ 46”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 398P/Boattini
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 398P/Boattini?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 398P/Boattini in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 398P/Boattini Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 398P/Boattini from Earth is currently 877,048,806 kilometers, equivalent to 5.862709 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 45.5199 seconds to travel from Comet 398P/Boattini and arrive to us.

877,048,806
5.862709
48 minutes and 45.5199 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 398P/Boattini 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 398P/Boattini 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 398P/Boattini from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 398P/Boattini to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 398P/Boattini to Earth happens on Wed Dec 23 2020 at a distance of 0.375438 Astronomical Units, or 56,164,772 kilometers:

Wed Dec 23 2020
56,164,772
0.375438

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

Comet 398P/Boattini Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 398P/Boattini, 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 398P/Boattini as a function of time

Comet 398P/Boattini Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 398P/Boattini at epoch 16 December 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459200.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.58256817
Orbit inclination i 11.01527054°
Perihelion distance q 1.30569341 AU
195,328,954 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.95014681 AU
740,531,424 km
Semi-major axis a 3.12792011 AU
467,930,189 km
Orbital period period 5.5321 years
2,020.6072 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-Dec-26 17:51:58
2,459,210.2444 JD
Next perihelion transit 2026-Jul-09 08:26
2,461,230.8517 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 320.23471164812°
Longitude of the ascending node node 127.46296718978°
Mean anomaly M 358.26389165887°
Mean motion n 0.17816426°/day

Visualization of Comet 398P/Boattini Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 398P/Boattini with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 398P/Boattini 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 398P/Boattini
View Comet 398P/Boattini in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 398P/Boattini 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 398P/Boattini computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 398P/Boattini in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 26 17h 46m 09s -17° 50’ 53” 26.41 Sagittarius
2023 Nov 27 17h 47m 00s -17° 52’ 00” 26.41 Sagittarius
2023 Nov 28 17h 47m 53s -17° 53’ 03” 26.41 Sagittarius
2023 Nov 29 17h 48m 44s -17° 54’ 06” 26.41 Sagittarius
2023 Nov 30 17h 49m 37s -17° 55’ 08” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 01 17h 50m 30s -17° 56’ 07” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 02 17h 51m 24s -17° 57’ 03” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 03 17h 52m 17s -17° 57’ 59” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 04 17h 53m 09s -17° 58’ 53” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 05 17h 54m 02s -17° 59’ 44” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 06 17h 54m 56s -18° 00’ 33” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 07 17h 55m 50s -18° 01’ 21” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 08 17h 56m 44s -18° 02’ 07” 26.42 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 09 17h 57m 38s -18° 02’ 50” 26.43 Sagittarius