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 | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Aug 09 | 01h 06m 24s | -14° 40’ 08” | 17.59 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 10 | 01h 07m 36s | -14° 46’ 26” | 17.53 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 11 | 01h 08m 49s | -14° 52’ 59” | 17.47 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 12 | 01h 10m 02s | -14° 59’ 48” | 17.41 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 13 | 01h 11m 15s | -15° 06’ 52” | 17.35 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 14 | 01h 12m 25s | -15° 14’ 12” | 17.29 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 15 | 01h 13m 36s | -15° 21’ 48” | 17.23 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 16 | 01h 14m 48s | -15° 29’ 41” | 17.17 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 17 | 01h 15m 56s | -15° 37’ 50” | 17.11 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 18 | 01h 17m 07s | -15° 46’ 14” | 17.05 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 19 | 01h 18m 15s | -15° 54’ 55” | 16.99 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 20 | 01h 19m 23s | -16° 03’ 52” | 16.93 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 21 | 01h 20m 30s | -16° 13’ 06” | 16.87 | Cetus |
| 2018 Aug 22 | 01h 21m 38s | -16° 22’ 37” | 16.81 | Cetus |
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 13 September 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458010.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.65848237 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.74632087° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.05518270 AU 157,853,086 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.12419196 AU 766,568,208 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.08968733 AU 462,210,647 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.4300 years 1,983.6737 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Dec-12 22:58:41 2,458,465.4574 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 356.34274971357° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 82.167673784949° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 277.43366020543° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.18148146°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2018-Dec-17 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.07751060 AU 11,595,421 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.