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Comets » 

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux

Above the horizon.  Rise: 6:54 | Tran: 15:08 | Set: 23:21
Alt: 3.11°   Az: 54.31°   Direction: North-East

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is in the constellation of Cancer, at a distance of 372,713,052.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 08h 39m 17s and the Declination is +23° 54’ 12” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 17.65).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in the constellation of Cancer on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in the constellation of Cancer on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

49P/Arend-Rigaux
RA: 08h 37m 47s
Dec: +23° 59’ 38”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

08h 39m 17s
+23° 54’ 12”
16h 10m 02s
00h 49m 20s

J2000

08h 37m 47s
+23° 59’ 38”

Additional Information

Cancer
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
17.65

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 66.1°
Max altitude: 62.4°
Azimuth: 293.9°

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 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth is currently 372,713,052.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.4914328677 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20m 43.237s to travel from comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux and arrive to us.

372,713,052.0
2.4914328677
20m 43.237s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux to Earth will happen on Saturday 27 December 2031 at a distance of 0.559464 Astronomical Units, or 83,694,594 kilometers:

Saturday 27 December 2031
83,694,594
0.559464

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux at epoch November, 26 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456623.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.60042880
Orbit inclination i 19.05343748°
Perihelion distance q 1.42478121 AU
213,144,236 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.70676985 AU
853,720,620 km
Semi-major axis a 3.56577553 AU
533,432,428 km
Orbital period period 6.7335 years
2,459.4015 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp October 19, 2011
2,455,853.7356 JD
Next perihelion transit July 13, 2018
2,458,313.1370 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 332.88837062983°
Longitude of the ascending node node 118.83983707047°
Mean anomaly M 112.67586831862°
Mean motion n 0.14637708°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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
Jun 22 2025 08h 16m 33s +24° 22’ 15” 17.55 Cancer
Jun 23 2025 08h 19m 44s +24° 19’ 06” 17.56 Cancer
Jun 24 2025 08h 22m 53s +24° 15’ 44” 17.58 Cancer
Jun 25 2025 08h 26m 02s +24° 12’ 07” 17.59 Cancer
Jun 26 2025 08h 29m 10s +24° 08’ 16” 17.61 Cancer
Jun 27 2025 08h 32m 17s +24° 04’ 13” 17.62 Cancer
Jun 28 2025 08h 35m 24s +23° 59’ 55” 17.64 Cancer
Jun 29 2025 08h 38m 29s +23° 55’ 25” 17.65 Cancer
Jun 30 2025 08h 41m 34s +23° 50’ 42” 17.67 Cancer
Jul 01 2025 08h 44m 37s +23° 45’ 47” 17.68 Cancer
Jul 02 2025 08h 47m 40s +23° 40’ 39” 17.70 Cancer
Jul 03 2025 08h 50m 42s +23° 35’ 19” 17.71 Cancer
Jul 04 2025 08h 53m 44s +23° 29’ 49” 17.73 Cancer
Jul 05 2025 08h 56m 44s +23° 24’ 07” 17.74 Cancer

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