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public  Hetian, China Hetian, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:28 
Transit: 12:18 
Sunset: 19:08
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Comets » 

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle

Above the horizon.  Rise: 14:39 | Tran: 20:12 | Set: 1:45
Alt: 34.97°   Az: 230.42°   Direction: South-West

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 1,986,413,017.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 14h 45m 39s and the Declination is -12° 50’ 53” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 44.14).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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.

55P/Tempel-Tuttle
RA: 14h 44m 16s
Dec: -12° 44’ 29”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

14h 45m 39s
-12° 50’ 53”
02h 41m 29s
17h 27m 09s

J2000

14h 44m 16s
-12° 44’ 29”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
44.14

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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Hetian, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 102.9°
Max altitude: 51.5°
Azimuth: 257.2°

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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Earth is currently 1,986,413,017.0 kilometers, equivalent to 13.2783508729 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 50m 25.961s to travel from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and arrive to us.

1,986,413,017.0
13.2783508729
1h 50m 25.961s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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.

Chart of the distance of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle to Earth will happen on Sunday 25 January 2065 at a distance of 0.404270 Astronomical Units, or 60,477,952 kilometers:

Sunday 25 January 2065
60,477,952
0.404270

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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle at epoch August, 14 1998 00:00 UTC (JD: 2451040.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.90555272
Orbit inclination i 162.48657538°
Perihelion distance q 0.97642792 AU
146,071,537 km
Aphelion distance Q 19.70024854 AU
2,947,115,240 km
Semi-major axis a 10.33833823 AU
1,546,593,389 km
Orbital period period 33.2418 years
12,141.5612 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp February 28, 1998
2,450,872.5977 JD
Next perihelion transit May 27, 2031
2,463,014.1589 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 172.50027368281°
Longitude of the ascending node node 235.27098914908°
Mean anomaly M 4.9783396846882°
Mean motion n 0.02965022°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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
Jun 26 2025 14h 47m 09s -12° 57’ 15” 44.14 Libra
Jun 27 2025 14h 46m 56s -12° 56’ 20” 44.14 Libra
Jun 28 2025 14h 46m 44s -12° 55’ 28” 44.14 Libra
Jun 29 2025 14h 46m 32s -12° 54’ 36” 44.14 Libra
Jun 30 2025 14h 46m 20s -12° 53’ 45” 44.14 Libra
Jul 01 2025 14h 46m 08s -12° 52’ 57” 44.14 Libra
Jul 02 2025 14h 45m 57s -12° 52’ 09” 44.14 Libra
Jul 03 2025 14h 45m 46s -12° 51’ 22” 44.14 Libra
Jul 04 2025 14h 45m 35s -12° 50’ 36” 44.14 Libra
Jul 05 2025 14h 45m 25s -12° 49’ 53” 44.13 Libra
Jul 06 2025 14h 45m 14s -12° 49’ 10” 44.13 Libra
Jul 07 2025 14h 45m 04s -12° 48’ 28” 44.13 Libra
Jul 08 2025 14h 44m 55s -12° 47’ 48” 44.13 Libra
Jul 09 2025 14h 44m 45s -12° 47’ 10” 44.13 Libra

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