Comet 46P/Wirtanen
Comet 46P/Wirtanen is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 46P/Wirtanen is 19h 37m 24s and the Declination is -25° 47’ 52” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 46P/Wirtanen is 22.75 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 46P/Wirtanen [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]:
- 46P/Wirtanen is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 6° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 46P/Wirtanen is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 46P/Wirtanen?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 46P/Wirtanen in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen from Earth is currently 750,101,860 kilometers, equivalent to 5.014121 Astronomical Units. Light takes 41 minutes and 42.0705 seconds to travel from Comet 46P/Wirtanen and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 46P/Wirtanen to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 46P/Wirtanen to Earth happens on Mon Dec 17 2018 at a distance of 0.077509 Astronomical Units, or 11,595,162 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 46P/Wirtanen is 22.75.
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 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 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 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 46P/Wirtanen at epoch 12 December 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458465.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.65875968 |
Orbit inclination | i | 11.74759189° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.05535577 AU 157,878,976 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
5.13005504 AU 767,445,312 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
3.09270540 AU 462,662,144 km |
Orbital period | period |
5.4390 years 1,986.5809 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Dec-12 22:20:55 2,458,465.4312 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2024-May-21 12:17 2,460,452.0121 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 356.34109457074° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 82.157638993407° |
Mean anomaly | M | 0.012467187040873° |
Mean motion | n | 0.18121588°/day |
Visualization of Comet 46P/Wirtanen Orbit
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 15 Days 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 | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Jan 22 | 19h 29m 00s | -25° 59’ 42” | 22.79 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 23 | 19h 30m 10s | -25° 58’ 08” | 22.79 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 24 | 19h 31m 18s | -25° 56’ 34” | 22.78 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 25 | 19h 32m 26s | -25° 54’ 59” | 22.78 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 26 | 19h 33m 34s | -25° 53’ 21” | 22.77 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 27 | 19h 34m 42s | -25° 51’ 45” | 22.77 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 28 | 19h 35m 52s | -25° 50’ 06” | 22.76 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 29 | 19h 37m 00s | -25° 48’ 27” | 22.75 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 30 | 19h 38m 08s | -25° 46’ 46” | 22.75 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 31 | 19h 39m 15s | -25° 45’ 06” | 22.74 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 01 | 19h 40m 23s | -25° 43’ 23” | 22.74 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 02 | 19h 41m 32s | -25° 41’ 40” | 22.73 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 03 | 19h 42m 41s | -25° 39’ 57” | 22.72 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 04 | 19h 43m 48s | -25° 38’ 13” | 22.72 | Sagittarius |