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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet 4P/Faye

Altitude: -7.4°   Azimuth: 266.1°   Direction: West

Comet 4P/Faye is a short-period comet that orbits the Sun once every 7.34 years. It was discovered by Hervé Faye on November 23, 1843. The perihelion distance of the comet is about 1.61 AU, while its aphelion distance is approximately 6.03 AU. The orbital period is 7.48 Earth years.

Comet 4P/Faye is currently in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 694,995,268 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 4P/Faye in Virgo on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 4P/Faye in Virgo on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 4P/Faye is 13h 30m 21s and the Declination is -08° 14’ 58” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 4P/Faye is 21.33 (JPL).

13h 30m 21s
-08° 14’ 58”
Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.33

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 4P/Faye from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 98.2°
Max altitude: 30.3°
Azimuth: 261.7°
  • 4P/Faye is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 4P/Faye 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 4P/Faye Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 4P/Faye
Map showing Comet 4P/Faye in Virgo on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 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.

4P/Faye
RA: 13h 30m 21s
Dec: -08° 14’ 58”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 4P/Faye
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 694,995,268 kilometers, equivalent to 4.645756 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 38.2547 seconds to travel from Comet 4P/Faye and arrive to us.

694,995,268
4.645756
38 minutes and 38.2547 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 4P/Faye 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 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 1 January 2013 and 30 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:

Tue Oct 31 2073
91,657,788
0.612694

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

Comet 4P/Faye Brightness and Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 4P/Faye as a function of time

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!

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
2024 Mar 12 13h 33m 42s -08° 39’ 24” 21.34 Virgo
2024 Mar 13 13h 33m 16s -08° 36’ 14” 21.34 Virgo
2024 Mar 14 13h 32m 50s -08° 32’ 58” 21.34 Virgo
2024 Mar 15 13h 32m 23s -08° 29’ 41” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 16 13h 31m 55s -08° 26’ 21” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 17 13h 31m 27s -08° 22’ 59” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 18 13h 31m 00s -08° 19’ 33” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 19 13h 30m 30s -08° 16’ 05” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 20 13h 30m 02s -08° 12’ 34” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 21 13h 29m 31s -08° 09’ 02” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 22 13h 29m 02s -08° 05’ 26” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 23 13h 28m 32s -08° 01’ 50” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 24 13h 28m 00s -07° 58’ 10” 21.33 Virgo
2024 Mar 25 13h 27m 29s -07° 54’ 29” 21.33 Virgo