Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is in the constellation of
Capricornus,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
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High 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.
Celestial 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
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 52P/Harrington-Abell is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 7.54° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 52P/Harrington-Abell is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is currently
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
Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, 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.
Light Curve
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.
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 |
View Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the 3D Solar System Simulator
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 May 21 | 20h 29m 15s | -26° 56’ 48” | 27.95 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 22 | 20h 29m 07s | -26° 58’ 05” | 27.94 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 23 | 20h 28m 59s | -26° 59’ 23” | 27.94 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 24 | 20h 28m 50s | -27° 00’ 44” | 27.93 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 25 | 20h 28m 40s | -27° 02’ 08” | 27.93 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 26 | 20h 28m 29s | -27° 03’ 32” | 27.92 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 27 | 20h 28m 18s | -27° 04’ 58” | 27.91 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 28 | 20h 28m 07s | -27° 06’ 28” | 27.91 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 29 | 20h 27m 54s | -27° 07’ 58” | 27.90 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 30 | 20h 27m 40s | -27° 09’ 30” | 27.90 | Capricornus |
| 2025 May 31 | 20h 27m 25s | -27° 11’ 04” | 27.89 | Capricornus |
| 2025 Jun 01 | 20h 27m 10s | -27° 12’ 40” | 27.89 | Capricornus |
| 2025 Jun 02 | 20h 26m 54s | -27° 14’ 16” | 27.89 | Capricornus |
| 2025 Jun 03 | 20h 26m 38s | -27° 15’ 54” | 27.88 | Capricornus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell?: Key information on locating Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the sky.
- Distance from Earth: Find out how far Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell's rise and set times from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: high precision position tracker with deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: information about Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization. 3d interactive visualization showing the orbit of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell with respect to the major Solar System objects.