Comet 398P/Boattini
Comet 398P/Boattini is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 398P/Boattini is 15h 05m 51s and the Declination is -08° 14’ 25” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 398P/Boattini is 23.79 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 398P/Boattini [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 398P/Boattini is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 22° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 398P/Boattini is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 398P/Boattini rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet 398P/Boattini available on TheSkyLive:
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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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.
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 611,395,861 kilometers, equivalent to 4.086929 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 59.3971 seconds to travel from Comet 398P/Boattini and arrive to us.
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.
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 January 2013 and 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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 398P/Boattini brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 398P/Boattini is 23.79.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
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.
Comet 398P/Boattini rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 398P/Boattini rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 398P/Boattini touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Dec 02 | 14h 56m 58s | -07° 44’ 04” | 23.74 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 03 | 14h 58m 13s | -07° 48’ 28” | 23.75 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 04 | 14h 59m 26s | -07° 52’ 46” | 23.76 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 05 | 15h 00m 39s | -07° 57’ 01” | 23.76 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 06 | 15h 01m 53s | -08° 01’ 10” | 23.77 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 07 | 15h 03m 06s | -08° 05’ 16” | 23.78 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 08 | 15h 04m 18s | -08° 09’ 16” | 23.78 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 09 | 15h 05m 30s | -08° 13’ 13” | 23.79 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 10 | 15h 06m 41s | -08° 17’ 03” | 23.79 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 11 | 15h 07m 53s | -08° 20’ 51” | 23.80 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 12 | 15h 09m 03s | -08° 24’ 33” | 23.81 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 13 | 15h 10m 14s | -08° 28’ 10” | 23.81 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 14 | 15h 11m 23s | -08° 31’ 44” | 23.82 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 15 | 15h 12m 33s | -08° 35’ 12” | 23.82 | Libra |