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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:43  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:24

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is currently in the constellation of Capricornus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is 20h 33m 20s and the Declination is -17° 54’ 16” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is 21.92 (JPL).

20h 33m 20s
-17° 54’ 16”
Capricornus
21.92

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 107.9°
Max altitude: 20.6°
Azimuth: 252.1°
  • 49P/Arend-Rigaux is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 4° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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.

Available Resources

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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.

Map showing Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in Capricornus on March, 29 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in Capricornus on March, 29 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

49P/Arend-Rigaux
RA: 20h 33m 20s
Dec: -17° 54’ 16”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth is currently 813,394,132 kilometers, equivalent to 5.437204 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 13.1908 seconds to travel from Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux and arrive to us.

813,394,132
5.437204
45 minutes and 13.1908 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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 49P/Arend-Rigaux from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux to Earth happens on Sat Dec 27 2031 at a distance of 0.559458 Astronomical Units, or 83,693,666 kilometers:

Sat Dec 27 2031
83,693,666
0.559458

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

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux is 21.92.

21.92
-
-

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 49P/Arend-Rigaux, 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 49P/Arend-Rigaux as a function of time

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux at epoch 26 August 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455800.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.60040567
Orbit inclination i 19.04992263°
Perihelion distance q 1.42383153 AU
213,002,166 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.70255344 AU
853,089,854 km
Semi-major axis a 3.56319249 AU
533,046,010 km
Orbital period period 6.7262 years
2,456.7296 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2011-Oct-19 01:50:06
2,455,853.5765 JD
Next perihelion transit 2018-Jul-10 19:20
2,458,310.3060 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 332.787692485°
Longitude of the ascending node node 118.87791451082°
Mean anomaly M 352.22237232555°
Mean motion n 0.14653628°/day

Visualization of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux
View Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 22 20h 28m 49s -18° 03’ 41” 21.97 Capricornus
2023 Mar 23 20h 29m 27s -18° 02’ 17” 21.97 Capricornus
2023 Mar 24 20h 30m 06s -18° 00’ 56” 21.96 Capricornus
2023 Mar 25 20h 30m 44s -17° 59’ 35” 21.95 Capricornus
2023 Mar 26 20h 31m 23s -17° 58’ 17” 21.94 Capricornus
2023 Mar 27 20h 31m 59s -17° 56’ 59” 21.93 Capricornus
2023 Mar 28 20h 32m 36s -17° 55’ 42” 21.93 Capricornus
2023 Mar 29 20h 33m 14s -17° 54’ 28” 21.92 Capricornus
2023 Mar 30 20h 33m 50s -17° 53’ 14” 21.91 Capricornus
2023 Mar 31 20h 34m 26s -17° 52’ 02” 21.90 Capricornus
2023 Apr 01 20h 35m 00s -17° 50’ 53” 21.89 Capricornus
2023 Apr 02 20h 35m 35s -17° 49’ 44” 21.89 Capricornus
2023 Apr 03 20h 36m 10s -17° 48’ 37” 21.88 Capricornus
2023 Apr 04 20h 36m 43s -17° 47’ 31” 21.87 Capricornus