Comet 40P/Vaisala 1
Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 is 00h 19m 30s and the Declination is -07° 23’ 00” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 is 28.07 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 [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]:
- 40P/Vaisala 1 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 8° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 40P/Vaisala 1 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 40P/Vaisala 1?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 from Earth is currently 1,270,394,375 kilometers, equivalent to 8.492062 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 10 minutes and 37.5795 seconds to travel from Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 to Earth happens on Mon Mar 24 2070 at a distance of 0.879460 Astronomical Units, or 131,565,357 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 is 28.07.
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 40P/Vaisala 1, 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 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 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 |
10.9800 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 1 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 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 40P/Vaisala 1 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 40P/Vaisala 1 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 1 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 19 | 00h 17m 16s | -07° 43’ 23” | 28.05 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 00h 17m 32s | -07° 40’ 44” | 28.05 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 00h 17m 49s | -07° 38’ 03” | 28.05 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 00h 18m 07s | -07° 35’ 21” | 28.06 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 00h 18m 24s | -07° 32’ 39” | 28.06 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 00h 18m 42s | -07° 29’ 53” | 28.06 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 00h 19m 01s | -07° 27’ 07” | 28.06 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 00h 19m 21s | -07° 24’ 20” | 28.07 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 00h 19m 40s | -07° 21’ 30” | 28.07 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 28 | 00h 19m 59s | -07° 18’ 39” | 28.07 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 29 | 00h 20m 18s | -07° 15’ 47” | 28.08 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 30 | 00h 20m 39s | -07° 12’ 55” | 28.08 | Cetus |
| 2021 Jan 31 | 00h 20m 58s | -07° 10’ 00” | 28.08 | Cetus |
| 2021 Feb 01 | 00h 21m 20s | -07° 07’ 05” | 28.08 | Cetus |