Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is currently in the constellation of Scorpius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is 16h 44m 01s and the Declination is -31° 28’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is 24.70 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell [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]:
- 52P/Harrington-Abell is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South direction at an altitude of 7° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 52P/Harrington-Abell is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 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
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is currently 666,777,596 kilometers, equivalent to 4.457133 Astronomical Units. Light takes 37 minutes and 4.1307 seconds to travel from Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth happens on Thu Jan 29 2037 at a distance of 0.878538 Astronomical Units, or 131,427,355 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is 24.70.
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 52P/Harrington-Abell, 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 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell at epoch 21 June 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457561.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.54006288 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.23173068° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.77497832 AU 265,532,977 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.94337371 AU 889,116,054 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.85917601 AU 577,324,516 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.5814 years 2,769.1106 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Mar-07 08:46:57 2,456,723.8659 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Oct-05 11:26 2,459,492.9766 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 139.65914883566° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 336.83612096879° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 108.89715151903° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13000564°/day |
Visualization of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 22 | 16h 36m 47s | -31° 03’ 15” | 24.67 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 23 | 16h 37m 49s | -31° 06’ 43” | 24.68 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 24 | 16h 38m 48s | -31° 10’ 12” | 24.68 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 25 | 16h 39m 48s | -31° 13’ 37” | 24.68 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 26 | 16h 40m 47s | -31° 17’ 03” | 24.69 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 27 | 16h 41m 45s | -31° 20’ 26” | 24.69 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 28 | 16h 42m 43s | -31° 23’ 48” | 24.70 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 29 | 16h 43m 41s | -31° 27’ 11” | 24.70 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 30 | 16h 44m 38s | -31° 30’ 30” | 24.71 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Jan 31 | 16h 45m 33s | -31° 33’ 50” | 24.71 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 16h 46m 29s | -31° 37’ 09” | 24.71 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 16h 47m 25s | -31° 40’ 26” | 24.72 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 16h 48m 19s | -31° 43’ 41” | 24.72 | Scorpius |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 16h 49m 12s | -31° 46’ 56” | 24.73 | Scorpius |