Comet 402P/LINEAR

Comet 402P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 11h 44m 33s and the Declination is +21° 46’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 20.35 (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 402P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 402P/LINEAR?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 402P/LINEAR from Earth?)
• When does Comet 402P/LINEAR rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 402P/LINEAR?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 402P/LINEAR orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 402P/LINEAR with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 402P/LINEAR for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 402P/LINEAR in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 402P/LINEAR with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 402P/LINEAR is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 402P/LINEAR?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 402P/LINEAR in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 402P/LINEAR Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 402P/LINEAR from Earth is currently 922,405,037 kilometers, equivalent to 6.165897 Astronomical Units. Light takes 51 minutes and 16.8120 seconds to travel from Comet 402P/LINEAR and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 402P/LINEAR 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 402P/LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 402P/LINEAR to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 402P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Tue Dec 28 2021 at a distance of 3.002067 Astronomical Units, or 449,102,869 kilometers:

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

Comet 402P/LINEAR Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 402P/LINEAR, 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 402P/LINEAR Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 402P/LINEAR with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 402P/LINEAR 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 402P/LINEAR 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 402P/LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 402P/LINEAR in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 16	11h 37m 29s	+22° 12’ 34”	20.32	Leo
2023 Sep 17	11h 38m 26s	+22° 08’ 57”	20.32	Leo
2023 Sep 18	11h 39m 23s	+22° 05’ 21”	20.33	Leo
2023 Sep 19	11h 40m 19s	+22° 01’ 46”	20.33	Leo
2023 Sep 20	11h 41m 17s	+21° 58’ 14”	20.34	Leo
2023 Sep 21	11h 42m 12s	+21° 54’ 46”	20.34	Leo
2023 Sep 22	11h 43m 09s	+21° 51’ 18”	20.35	Leo
2023 Sep 23	11h 44m 05s	+21° 47’ 53”	20.35	Leo
2023 Sep 24	11h 45m 02s	+21° 44’ 30”	20.35	Leo
2023 Sep 25	11h 45m 57s	+21° 41’ 11”	20.36	Leo
2023 Sep 26	11h 46m 54s	+21° 37’ 54”	20.36	Leo
2023 Sep 27	11h 47m 49s	+21° 34’ 39”	20.37	Leo
2023 Sep 28	11h 48m 46s	+21° 31’ 26”	20.37	Leo
2023 Sep 29	11h 49m 41s	+21° 28’ 15”	20.37	Leo