Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of comet 51P/Harrington in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Comet 51P/Harrington
Comet 51P/Harrington is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 51P/Harrington in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 51P/Harrington 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.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
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 51P/Harrington from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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 51P/Harrington from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of comet 51P/Harrington 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.
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 51P/Harrington 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 51P/Harrington to Earth happened on Monday 5 September 2022 at a distance of 0.719952 Astronomical Units, or 107,703,271 kilometers:
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 51P/Harrington, 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.
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 51P/Harrington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 07 2025 | 10h 18m 39s | +15° 30’ 54” | 26.71 | Leo |
| Jul 08 2025 | 10h 19m 15s | +15° 27’ 04” | 26.72 | Leo |
| Jul 09 2025 | 10h 19m 51s | +15° 23’ 12” | 26.72 | Leo |
| Jul 10 2025 | 10h 20m 28s | +15° 19’ 20” | 26.73 | Leo |
| Jul 11 2025 | 10h 21m 05s | +15° 15’ 25” | 26.73 | Leo |
| Jul 12 2025 | 10h 21m 43s | +15° 11’ 30” | 26.74 | Leo |
| Jul 13 2025 | 10h 22m 20s | +15° 07’ 33” | 26.74 | Leo |
| Jul 14 2025 | 10h 22m 58s | +15° 03’ 34” | 26.74 | Leo |
| Jul 15 2025 | 10h 23m 36s | +14° 59’ 35” | 26.75 | Leo |
| Jul 16 2025 | 10h 24m 14s | +14° 55’ 35” | 26.75 | Leo |
| Jul 17 2025 | 10h 24m 53s | +14° 51’ 34” | 26.76 | Leo |
| Jul 18 2025 | 10h 25m 31s | +14° 47’ 31” | 26.76 | Leo |
| Jul 19 2025 | 10h 26m 10s | +14° 43’ 28” | 26.77 | Leo |
| Jul 20 2025 | 10h 26m 49s | +14° 39’ 23” | 26.77 | Leo |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Comet 51P/Harrington: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is comet 51P/Harrington?: Key information on where to find comet 51P/Harrington in the sky.
- Distance of comet 51P/Harrington from Earth: Find out how far comet 51P/Harrington is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is comet 51P/Harrington?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of comet 51P/Harrington from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of comet 51P/Harrington's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of comet 51P/Harrington's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days comet 51P/Harrington's computed ephemeris.