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Comet 402P/LINEAR Ephemeris Calculator
Compute the position of Comet 402P/LINEAR for any date and time between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100 and display the results on an interactive star map.
In Evidence
Comet 402P/LINEAR
Comet 402P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 09h 52m 07s and the Declination is +31° 10’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 18.66 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 402P/LINEAR from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 402P/LINEAR is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Right now it is placed in the West-North-West direction at an altitude of 18° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 402P/LINEAR 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.
Comet 402P/LINEAR Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 402P/LINEAR 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.
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 601,139,676 kilometers, equivalent to 4.018371 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 25.1861 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
The current visual magnitude of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 18.66.
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 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.
Comet 402P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 402P/LINEAR at epoch 11 February 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455969.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.43846407 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 30.87505048° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.91983869 AU 586,399,523 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
10.04129345 AU 1,502,156,123 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
6.98056607 AU 1,044,277,823 km |
| Orbital period | period |
18.4435 years 6,736.5012 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2003-Jun-30 15:13:36 2,452,821.1345 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Dec-09 03:15 2,459,557.6356 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 326.91754682189° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 123.15762002378° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 168.2492984573° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.05344020°/day |
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!
View Comet 402P/LINEAR in the 3D Solar System Simulator
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 Mar 22 | 09h 54m 03s | +30° 56’ 03” | 18.58 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 23 | 09h 53m 44s | +30° 58’ 27” | 18.59 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 24 | 09h 53m 26s | +31° 00’ 43” | 18.60 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 25 | 09h 53m 09s | +31° 02’ 52” | 18.62 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 26 | 09h 52m 54s | +31° 04’ 53” | 18.63 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 27 | 09h 52m 37s | +31° 06’ 45” | 18.64 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 28 | 09h 52m 23s | +31° 08’ 30” | 18.65 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 29 | 09h 52m 09s | +31° 10’ 08” | 18.66 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 30 | 09h 51m 56s | +31° 11’ 38” | 18.67 | Leo |
| 2023 Mar 31 | 09h 51m 45s | +31° 13’ 00” | 18.69 | Leo |
| 2023 Apr 01 | 09h 51m 33s | +31° 14’ 16” | 18.70 | Leo |
| 2023 Apr 02 | 09h 51m 23s | +31° 15’ 24” | 18.71 | Leo |
| 2023 Apr 03 | 09h 51m 12s | +31° 16’ 24” | 18.72 | Leo |
| 2023 Apr 04 | 09h 51m 03s | +31° 17’ 18” | 18.73 | Leo |