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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:54  
clear_day Transit: 11:51  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 40P/Vaisala

Altitude: -29.1°   Azimuth: 41.1°   Direction: North-East

Comet 40P/Vaisala is currently in the constellation of Cetus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 40P/Vaisala is 02h 42m 30s and the Declination is +01° 43’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 40P/Vaisala is 24.58 (JPL).

02h 42m 30s
+01° 43’ 37”
Cetus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.58

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 40P/Vaisala from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 88.3°
Max altitude: 40.2°
Azimuth: 271.7°
  • 40P/Vaisala is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on December,11 2023
Map showing Comet 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on December, 11 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 40P/Vaisala
Map showing Comet 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on December, 11 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 40P/Vaisala is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

40P/Vaisala
RA: 02h 42m 30s
Dec: +01° 43’ 37”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 40P/Vaisala
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 40P/Vaisala?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 40P/Vaisala in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 40P/Vaisala Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala from Earth is currently 695,638,400 kilometers, equivalent to 4.650055 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 40.3999 seconds to travel from Comet 40P/Vaisala and arrive to us.

695,638,400
4.650055
38 minutes and 40.3999 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala to Earth happens on Mon Mar 24 2070 at a distance of 0.879460 Astronomical Units, or 131,565,362 kilometers:

Mon Mar 24 2070
131,565,362
0.879460

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

Comet 40P/Vaisala Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 40P/Vaisala, 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 40P/Vaisala as a function of time

Comet 40P/Vaisala Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 40P/Vaisala at epoch 27 August 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457262.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.63161520
Orbit inclination i 11.49264282°
Perihelion distance q 1.81977116 AU
272,233,891 km
Aphelion distance Q 8.05995877 AU
1,205,752,672 km
Semi-major axis a 4.93986496 AU
738,993,281 km
Orbital period period 10.9795 years
4,010.2463 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Nov-15 20:12:59
2,456,977.3424 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Nov-08 02:07
2,460,987.5886 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 47.288855021729°
Longitude of the ascending node node 133.84016785708°
Mean anomaly M 25.598615967354°
Mean motion n 0.08977005°/day

Visualization of Comet 40P/Vaisala Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 40P/Vaisala with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala
View Comet 40P/Vaisala in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 40P/Vaisala 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 40P/Vaisala computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 40P/Vaisala in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Dec 04 02h 45m 59s +01° 47’ 48” 24.60 Cetus
2023 Dec 05 02h 45m 29s +01° 46’ 59” 24.60 Cetus
2023 Dec 06 02h 45m 00s +01° 46’ 14” 24.59 Cetus
2023 Dec 07 02h 44m 31s +01° 45’ 34” 24.59 Cetus
2023 Dec 08 02h 44m 03s +01° 45’ 01” 24.59 Cetus
2023 Dec 09 02h 43m 36s +01° 44’ 30” 24.59 Cetus
2023 Dec 10 02h 43m 09s +01° 44’ 06” 24.59 Cetus
2023 Dec 11 02h 42m 42s +01° 43’ 46” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 12 02h 42m 18s +01° 43’ 32” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 13 02h 41m 52s +01° 43’ 22” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 14 02h 41m 27s +01° 43’ 17” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 15 02h 41m 03s +01° 43’ 18” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 16 02h 40m 40s +01° 43’ 23” 24.58 Cetus
2023 Dec 17 02h 40m 18s +01° 43’ 32” 24.57 Cetus