Comet 46P/Wirtanen
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 46P/Wirtanen is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 46P/Wirtanen rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 46P/Wirtanen with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 46P/Wirtanen computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 46P/Wirtanen in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Apr 16 | 21.20 | 22h 25m 01s | -18° 26’ 58” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 17 | 21.17 | 22h 26m 30s | -18° 21’ 29” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 18 | 21.14 | 22h 27m 57s | -18° 15’ 59” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 19 | 21.12 | 22h 29m 26s | -18° 10’ 31” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 20 | 21.09 | 22h 30m 52s | -18° 05’ 03” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 21 | 21.06 | 22h 32m 21s | -17° 59’ 35” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 22 | 21.03 | 22h 33m 48s | -17° 54’ 08” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 23 | 21.01 | 22h 35m 17s | -17° 48’ 42” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 24 | 20.98 | 22h 36m 45s | -17° 43’ 18” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 25 | 20.95 | 22h 38m 12s | -17° 37’ 54” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 26 | 20.92 | 22h 39m 39s | -17° 32’ 30” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 27 | 20.89 | 22h 41m 08s | -17° 27’ 09” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 28 | 20.86 | 22h 42m 36s | -17° 21’ 48” | Aquarius |
| 2018 Apr 29 | 20.84 | 22h 44m 03s | -17° 16’ 28” | Aquarius |
Distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 46P/Wirtanen is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 46P/Wirtanen
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 46P/Wirtanen, 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 46P/Wirtanen Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 46P/Wirtanen at epoch 21 May 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456799.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.65920256 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.75713931° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.05226208 AU 157,416,168 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.12303130 AU 766,394,576 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.08764669 AU 461,905,372 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.4300 years 1,981.7088 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Jul-09 08:51:36 2,456,482.8692 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2018-Dec-12 01:52 2,458,464.5779 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 356.34020533633° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 82.16439076917° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 57.519602148222° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18166141°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2018-Dec-17 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.07772006 AU 11,626,755 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.