Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is 15h 28m 39s and the Declination is -18° 10’ 58” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is 47.21 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle [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]:
- 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 13° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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
View fullscreen
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Earth is currently 2,714,494,178 kilometers, equivalent to 18.145273 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2 hours, 30 minutes and 54.5779 seconds to travel from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle to Earth happens on Sun Jan 25 2065 at a distance of 0.404270 Astronomical Units, or 60,477,951 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is 47.21.
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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle at epoch 14 August 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 | 1998-Feb-28 02:20:44 2,450,872.5977 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2031-May-27 15:48 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 |
Visualization of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Dec 02 | 15h 27m 14s | -18° 06’ 28” | 47.22 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 03 | 15h 27m 25s | -18° 07’ 05” | 47.22 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 04 | 15h 27m 37s | -18° 07’ 44” | 47.22 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 05 | 15h 27m 48s | -18° 08’ 21” | 47.22 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 06 | 15h 28m 00s | -18° 08’ 57” | 47.22 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 07 | 15h 28m 13s | -18° 09’ 34” | 47.21 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 08 | 15h 28m 24s | -18° 10’ 10” | 47.21 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 09 | 15h 28m 36s | -18° 10’ 46” | 47.21 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 10 | 15h 28m 48s | -18° 11’ 21” | 47.21 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 11 | 15h 28m 59s | -18° 11’ 57” | 47.20 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 12 | 15h 29m 11s | -18° 12’ 32” | 47.20 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 13 | 15h 29m 21s | -18° 13’ 06” | 47.20 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 14 | 15h 29m 32s | -18° 13’ 41” | 47.20 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 15 | 15h 29m 44s | -18° 14’ 13” | 47.20 | Libra |