Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle Position
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension is 15h 41m 38s and the Declination is -19° 41’ 50”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is right now (view fullscreen)
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
The distance of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle from Earth is currently 2,624,876,872 kilometers, equivalent to 17.546218 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2 hours, 25 minutes and 55.6468 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 0.40427029 Astronomical Units, or 60,477,974 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 47.78.
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 |
33.2400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Mar 28 | 15h 42m 56s | -19° 46’ 35” | 47.80 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 29 | 15h 42m 46s | -19° 46’ 00” | 47.79 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 30 | 15h 42m 36s | -19° 45’ 23” | 47.79 | Libra |
| 2020 Mar 31 | 15h 42m 25s | -19° 44’ 45” | 47.79 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 01 | 15h 42m 15s | -19° 44’ 08” | 47.79 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 15h 42m 05s | -19° 43’ 30” | 47.78 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 15h 41m 54s | -19° 42’ 51” | 47.78 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 04 | 15h 41m 44s | -19° 42’ 11” | 47.78 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 05 | 15h 41m 33s | -19° 41’ 30” | 47.78 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 06 | 15h 41m 21s | -19° 40’ 50” | 47.77 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 07 | 15h 41m 11s | -19° 40’ 08” | 47.77 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 08 | 15h 40m 59s | -19° 39’ 25” | 47.77 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 09 | 15h 40m 47s | -19° 38’ 43” | 47.77 | Libra |
| 2020 Apr 10 | 15h 40m 36s | -19° 37’ 59” | 47.76 | Libra |