Comet 402P/LINEAR
Comet 402P/LINEAR is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 07h 07m 26s and the Declination is +18° 36’ 32” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 402P/LINEAR is 17.98 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 402P/LINEAR [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]:
- 402P/LINEAR is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 402P/LINEAR is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 402P/LINEAR 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 402P/LINEAR available on TheSkyLive:
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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
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 712,439,601 kilometers, equivalent to 4.762365 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39 minutes and 36.4427 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 January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 402P/LINEAR to Earth happens on Tue Dec 28 2021 at a distance of 3.002066 Astronomical Units, or 449,102,643 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 17.98.
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 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 402P/LINEAR 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 402P/LINEAR 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 402P/LINEAR Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 402P/LINEAR at epoch 17 April 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455669.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.43783135 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 30.85811716° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.92587454 AU 587,302,473 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
10.04101784 AU 1,502,114,891 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
6.98344619 AU 1,044,708,682 km |
| Orbital period | period |
18.4550 years 6,740.6707 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2003-Jun-28 03:17:30 2,452,818.6372 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Dec-10 19:23 2,459,559.3079 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 326.88800296798° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 123.18698523601° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 152.25645381872° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.05340715°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 20 | 06h 59m 30s | +18° 18’ 15” | 17.93 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 21 | 07h 00m 35s | +18° 21’ 01” | 17.94 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 22 | 07h 01m 41s | +18° 23’ 43” | 17.95 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 23 | 07h 02m 48s | +18° 26’ 20” | 17.95 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 24 | 07h 03m 55s | +18° 28’ 54” | 17.96 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 25 | 07h 05m 02s | +18° 31’ 23” | 17.97 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 26 | 07h 06m 09s | +18° 33’ 51” | 17.97 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 27 | 07h 07m 17s | +18° 36’ 14” | 17.98 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 28 | 07h 08m 25s | +18° 38’ 31” | 17.99 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 29 | 07h 09m 33s | +18° 40’ 47” | 18.00 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 30 | 07h 10m 41s | +18° 42’ 59” | 18.00 | Gemini |
| 2022 May 31 | 07h 11m 49s | +18° 45’ 06” | 18.01 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 01 | 07h 12m 57s | +18° 47’ 11” | 18.02 | Gemini |
| 2022 Jun 02 | 07h 14m 07s | +18° 49’ 12” | 18.02 | Gemini |