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public  Huangzhu, China Huangzhu, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 6:05 
Transit: 12:42 
Sunset: 19:19
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Comet 4P/Faye

Above the horizon.  Rise: 14:06 | Tran: 19:52 | Set: 1:38
Alt: 33.72°   Az: 114.99°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 4P/Faye is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 840,879,398.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 14h 05m 24s and the Declination is -08° 23’ 58” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 4P/Faye, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 22.16).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 4P/Faye in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 4P/Faye in the constellation of Virgo on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 4P/Faye in the constellation of Virgo 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 4P/Faye 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.

4P/Faye
RA: 14h 04m 03s
Dec: -08° 16’ 41”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 4P/Faye. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

14h 05m 24s
-08° 23’ 58”
20h 41m 25s
10h 46m 50s

J2000

14h 04m 03s
-08° 16’ 41”

Additional Information

Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.16

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 4P/Faye from Huangzhu, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 98.4°
Max altitude: 62.1°
Azimuth: 261.6°

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 4P/Faye from Earth is currently 840,879,398.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.6209315953 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46m 44.872s to travel from comet 4P/Faye and arrive to us.

840,879,398.0
5.6209315953
46m 44.872s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye to Earth will happen on Thursday 2 November 2073 at a distance of 0.615202 Astronomical Units, or 92,032,948 kilometers:

Thursday 2 November 2073
92,032,948
0.615202

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 4P/Faye, 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 4P/Faye as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 4P/Faye at epoch February, 07 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458522.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.58448252
Orbit inclination i 8.15995332°
Perihelion distance q 1.57803852 AU
236,071,203 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.01749514 AU
900,204,462 km
Semi-major axis a 3.79776683 AU
568,137,832 km
Orbital period period 7.4012 years
2,703.2790 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp September 5, 2021
2,459,463.1916 JD
Next perihelion transit January 29, 2029
2,462,166.4706 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 205.99251726988°
Longitude of the ascending node node 194.80005343692°
Mean anomaly M 234.72659234118°
Mean motion n 0.13317160°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye 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 27 2025 14h 06m 06s -08° 25’ 16” 22.12 Virgo
Jun 28 2025 14h 05m 58s -08° 24’ 53” 22.13 Virgo
Jun 29 2025 14h 05m 51s -08° 24’ 35” 22.14 Virgo
Jun 30 2025 14h 05m 45s -08° 24’ 20” 22.14 Virgo
Jul 01 2025 14h 05m 39s -08° 24’ 09” 22.15 Virgo
Jul 02 2025 14h 05m 34s -08° 24’ 01” 22.15 Virgo
Jul 03 2025 14h 05m 30s -08° 23’ 57” 22.16 Virgo
Jul 04 2025 14h 05m 26s -08° 23’ 57” 22.16 Virgo
Jul 05 2025 14h 05m 23s -08° 24’ 00” 22.17 Virgo
Jul 06 2025 14h 05m 20s -08° 24’ 08” 22.18 Virgo
Jul 07 2025 14h 05m 18s -08° 24’ 19” 22.18 Virgo
Jul 08 2025 14h 05m 17s -08° 24’ 33” 22.19 Virgo
Jul 09 2025 14h 05m 16s -08° 24’ 50” 22.19 Virgo
Jul 10 2025 14h 05m 17s -08° 25’ 11” 22.20 Virgo

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