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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:48  ☀️ Transit: 13:04  🌅 Sunset: 19:21

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck is 06h 52m 18s and the Declination is +18° 34’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck is 23.70 (JPL).

06h 52m 18s
+18° 34’ 14”
Gemini
23.70

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 71.4°
Max altitude: 57.1°
Azimuth: 288.6°
  • 53P/Van Biesbroeck is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 28° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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.

Available Resources

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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.

Map showing Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck in Gemini on March, 27 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck in Gemini on March, 27 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

53P/Van Biesbroeck
RA: 06h 52m 18s
Dec: +18° 34’ 14”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck from Earth is currently 1,227,753,147 kilometers, equivalent to 8.207023 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 8 minutes and 15.3437 seconds to travel from Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck and arrive to us.

1,227,753,147
8.207023
1 hours, 8 minutes and 15.3437 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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 53P/Van Biesbroeck from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck to Earth happens on Tue Jul 31 2091 at a distance of 0.905012 Astronomical Units, or 135,387,815 kilometers:

Tue Jul 31 2091
135,387,815
0.905012

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

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck is 23.70.

23.70
-
-

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 53P/Van Biesbroeck, 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 53P/Van Biesbroeck as a function of time

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck at epoch 08 August 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455782.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.55107446
Orbit inclination i 6.61125410°
Perihelion distance q 2.42621835 AU
362,957,100 km
Aphelion distance Q 8.38278293 AU
1,254,046,479 km
Semi-major axis a 5.40450064 AU
808,501,789 km
Orbital period period 12.5644 years
4,589.1451 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2016-Apr-30 19:11:59
2,457,509.3000 JD
Next perihelion transit 2028-Nov-22 22:40
2,462,098.4450 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 134.26546520817°
Longitude of the ascending node node 148.89779930287°
Mean anomaly M 224.5394756349°
Mean motion n 0.07844598°/day

Visualization of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck
View Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 20 06h 52m 06s +18° 29’ 20” 23.67 Gemini
2023 Mar 21 06h 52m 06s +18° 30’ 02” 23.67 Gemini
2023 Mar 22 06h 52m 06s +18° 30’ 42” 23.68 Gemini
2023 Mar 23 06h 52m 08s +18° 31’ 22” 23.68 Gemini
2023 Mar 24 06h 52m 09s +18° 32’ 00” 23.69 Gemini
2023 Mar 25 06h 52m 10s +18° 32’ 39” 23.69 Gemini
2023 Mar 26 06h 52m 14s +18° 33’ 16” 23.69 Gemini
2023 Mar 27 06h 52m 15s +18° 33’ 54” 23.70 Gemini
2023 Mar 28 06h 52m 19s +18° 34’ 29” 23.70 Gemini
2023 Mar 29 06h 52m 23s +18° 35’ 06” 23.71 Gemini
2023 Mar 30 06h 52m 27s +18° 35’ 39” 23.71 Gemini
2023 Mar 31 06h 52m 32s +18° 36’ 14” 23.71 Gemini
2023 Apr 01 06h 52m 37s +18° 36’ 47” 23.72 Gemini
2023 Apr 02 06h 52m 44s +18° 37’ 18” 23.72 Gemini