Comet 4P/Faye
Comet 4P/Faye is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 4P/Faye is 12h 05m 56s and the Declination is -04° 11’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 4P/Faye is 19.60 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 4P/Faye [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 4P/Faye is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 4P/Faye is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 4P/Faye rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet 4P/Faye available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 4P/Faye Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 4P/Faye 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 4P/Faye is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 4P/Faye?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 4P/Faye in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 4P/Faye Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 4P/Faye from Earth is currently 519,796,051 kilometers, equivalent to 3.474622 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28 minutes and 53.8530 seconds to travel from Comet 4P/Faye and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 4P/Faye 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.
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 4P/Faye from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 4P/Faye to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 4P/Faye to Earth happens on Tue Oct 31 2073 at a distance of 0.612694 Astronomical Units, or 91,657,788 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 4P/Faye brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 4P/Faye is 19.60.
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 4P/Faye, 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 4P/Faye rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 4P/Faye rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 4P/Faye touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 4P/Faye Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 4P/Faye at epoch 02 February 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458517.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.58461517 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 8.16450383° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.57732485 AU 235,964,439 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
6.01719828 AU 900,160,053 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.79726157 AU 568,062,246 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.3997 years 2,702.7396 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Sep-05 15:18:23 2,459,463.1378 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2029-Jan-29 09:03 2,462,165.8773 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 205.97354456806° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 194.83133749617° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 234.04276645986° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13319818°/day |
Visualization of Comet 4P/Faye Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 4P/Faye with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 4P/Faye 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 4P/Faye in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 31 | 12h 08m 26s | -04° 29’ 32” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 12h 08m 09s | -04° 27’ 28” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 12h 07m 50s | -04° 25’ 17” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 12h 07m 32s | -04° 22’ 59” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 12h 07m 11s | -04° 20’ 35” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 05 | 12h 06m 50s | -04° 18’ 03” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 06 | 12h 06m 28s | -04° 15’ 27” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 07 | 12h 06m 06s | -04° 12’ 42” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 08 | 12h 05m 42s | -04° 09’ 51” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 09 | 12h 05m 17s | -04° 06’ 56” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 10 | 12h 04m 51s | -04° 03’ 52” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 11 | 12h 04m 26s | -04° 00’ 43” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 12 | 12h 03m 59s | -03° 57’ 29” | 19.60 | Virgo |
| 2023 Feb 13 | 12h 03m 30s | -03° 54’ 06” | 19.60 | Virgo |