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public  Antequera MA (ES) Antequera MA (ES)  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/Madrid
Sunrise: 7:09 
Transit: 14:23 
Sunset: 21:37
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Comets » 

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle

Below the horizon.  Rise: 16:19 | Tran: 21:38 | Set: 3:01
Alt: -5.28°   Az: 257.99°   Direction: West-South-West

Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 2,001,340,394.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 14h 44m 17s and the Declination is -12° 45’ 19” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 44.13.

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 42m 54s
Dec: -12° 38’ 53”
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 44m 17s
-12° 45’ 19”
05h 47m 55s
20h 32m 13s

J2000

14h 42m 54s
-12° 38’ 53”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
44.13

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 Antequera MA (ES) (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/Madrid):

Azimuth: 102.8°
Max altitude: 40.2°
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 2,001,340,394.0 kilometers, equivalent to 13.3781342250 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 51m 15.753s to travel from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and arrive to us.

2,001,340,394.0
13.3781342250
1h 51m 15.753s

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
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’ 49” 44.13 Libra
Jul 09 2025 14h 44m 45s -12° 47’ 10” 44.13 Libra
Jul 10 2025 14h 44m 36s -12° 46’ 33” 44.13 Libra
Jul 11 2025 14h 44m 27s -12° 45’ 56” 44.13 Libra
Jul 12 2025 14h 44m 18s -12° 45’ 22” 44.13 Libra
Jul 13 2025 14h 44m 10s -12° 44’ 49” 44.13 Libra
Jul 14 2025 14h 44m 02s -12° 44’ 17” 44.13 Libra
Jul 15 2025 14h 43m 54s -12° 43’ 46” 44.13 Libra
Jul 16 2025 14h 43m 47s -12° 43’ 16” 44.13 Libra
Jul 17 2025 14h 43m 40s -12° 42’ 48” 44.13 Libra
Jul 18 2025 14h 43m 33s -12° 42’ 22” 44.13 Libra

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