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Comets » 

Comet 46P/Wirtanen

Above the horizon.  Rise: 0:33 | Tran: 5:56 | Set: 11:19
Alt: 31.60°   Az: 179.37°   Direction: South

Comet 46P/Wirtanen is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 407,833,456.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 10m 44s and the Declination is -06° 54’ 57” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 46P/Wirtanen is 21.00 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 46P/Wirtanen in Libra on February, 08 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 46P/Wirtanen in Libra on February, 08 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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.

46P/Wirtanen
RA: 15h 09m 23s
Dec: -06° 49’ 17”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 46P/Wirtanen. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 10m 44s
-06° 54’ 57”
23h 57m 50s
15h 08m 34s

J2000

15h 09m 23s
-06° 49’ 17”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.00

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 46P/Wirtanen from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 96.9°
Max altitude: 31.6°
Azimuth: 263.1°
  • 46P/Wirtanen is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South direction at an altitude of 31.60° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 46P/Wirtanen 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen from Earth is currently 407,833,456.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.7261982680 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22m 40.386s to travel from Comet 46P/Wirtanen and arrive to us.

407,833,456.0
2.7261982680
22m 40.386s

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 46P/Wirtanen 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 46P/Wirtanen from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 46P/Wirtanen to Earth happens on Mon Dec 17 2018 at a distance of 0.077508 Astronomical Units, or 11,595,104 kilometers:

Mon Dec 17 2018
11,595,104
0.077508

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

Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 46P/Wirtanen as a function of time

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 0.65875501
Orbit inclination i 11.74754876°
Perihelion distance q 1.05535538 AU
157,878,919 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.12996837 AU
767,432,346 km
Semi-major axis a 3.09266187 AU
462,655,632 km
Orbital period period 5.4388 years
1,986.5390 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2018-Dec-12 22:20:53
2,458,465.4312 JD
Next perihelion transit 2024-May-21 11:16
2,460,451.9701 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 356.34107185707°
Longitude of the ascending node node 82.157633924941°
Mean anomaly M 0.012473510012316°
Mean motion n 0.18121970°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 46P/Wirtanen
View Comet 46P/Wirtanen in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 01 15h 07m 21s -06° 57’ 05” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 02 15h 07m 53s -06° 57’ 07” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 03 15h 08m 24s -06° 57’ 03” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 04 15h 08m 53s -06° 56’ 52” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 05 15h 09m 21s -06° 56’ 34” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 06 15h 09m 48s -06° 56’ 12” 21.01 Libra
2025 Feb 07 15h 10m 14s -06° 55’ 42” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 08 15h 10m 38s -06° 55’ 06” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 09 15h 11m 02s -06° 54’ 25” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 10 15h 11m 24s -06° 53’ 37” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 11 15h 11m 44s -06° 52’ 43” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 12 15h 12m 03s -06° 51’ 43” 21.00 Libra
2025 Feb 13 15h 12m 21s -06° 50’ 37” 20.99 Libra
2025 Feb 14 15h 12m 38s -06° 49’ 25” 20.99 Libra

Additional Resources