Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
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 behvior 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.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbit Diagram
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Dec 04 | 20h 34m 41s | -22° 34’ 27” | 29.23 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 05 | 20h 35m 17s | -22° 31’ 27” | 29.23 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 06 | 20h 35m 52s | -22° 28’ 23” | 29.23 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 07 | 20h 36m 27s | -22° 25’ 19” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 08 | 20h 37m 01s | -22° 22’ 14” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 09 | 20h 37m 37s | -22° 19’ 09” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 10 | 20h 38m 14s | -22° 16’ 00” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 11 | 20h 38m 52s | -22° 12’ 51” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 12 | 20h 39m 29s | -22° 09’ 41” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 13 | 20h 40m 05s | -22° 06’ 28” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 14 | 20h 40m 44s | -22° 03’ 15” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 15 | 20h 41m 21s | -22° 00’ 00” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 16 | 20h 42m 01s | -21° 56’ 44” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 17 | 20h 42m 39s | -21° 53’ 26” | 29.24 | Capricornus |
Distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 52P/Harrington-Abell is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell at epoch 19 November 2014 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456981.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.54038911 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.23159989° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.77310973 AU 265,253,441 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.94258966 AU 888,998,761 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.85784970 AU 577,126,101 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.5800 years 2,767.6832 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2014-Mar-07 11:58:10 2,456,723.9987 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Oct-04 04:22 2,459,491.6820 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 139.59844231276° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 336.85163748745° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 33.493882136042° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.13007269°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2037-Jan-28 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.87840324 AU 131,407,255 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.