We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Help us keep TheSkyLive 100% free & ads-free, donate now!
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:08 
Transit: 12:13 
Sunset: 17:20
sunny   (Daytime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
Comets » 

5D/Brorsen (Lost)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 6:08 | Tran: 9:44 | Set: 13:21
Alt: 13.29°   Az: 187.84°   Direction: South

Comet 5D/Brorsen, also known as Comet Brorsen, was a periodic comet belonging to the Jupiter family of comets, which is now considered a lost comet. It was first discovered by the Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen on February 26, 1846. Based on the collected observations, the comet had an orbital period of 5.46 years and traveled around the Sun in an eccentric orbit with the closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) at a distance of about 0.58 astronomical units (AU), and the farthest distance (aphelion) at around 5.6 AU. The latest successful observations of Comet 5D/Brorsen were conducted during the 1879 apparition, while it was not possible to find the comet again during any of the subsequent apparitions.

5D/Brorsen (Lost) is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 921,388,356.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 19h 39m 01s and the Declination is -24° 52’ 14” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) is 19.58 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing 5D/Brorsen (Lost) in Sagittarius on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing 5D/Brorsen (Lost) in Sagittarius on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where 5D/Brorsen (Lost) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

5D/Brorsen (Lost)
RA: 19h 37m 29s
Dec: -24° 55’ 43”
Deep sky finder chart for 5D/Brorsen (Lost). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is 5D/Brorsen (Lost)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find 5D/Brorsen (Lost) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

19h 39m 01s
-24° 52’ 14”
00h 33m 38s
20h 12m 39s

J2000

19h 37m 29s
-24° 55’ 43”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.58

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 114.9°
Max altitude: 13.6°
Azimuth: 245.1°
  • 5D/Brorsen (Lost) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South direction at an altitude of 13.29° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 5D/Brorsen (Lost) 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) from Earth is currently 921,388,356.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.1591007391 Astronomical Units. Light takes 51m 13.421s to travel from 5D/Brorsen (Lost) and arrive to us.

921,388,356.0
6.1591007391
51m 13.421s

The following chart shows the distance of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) 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 5D/Brorsen (Lost) 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 5D/Brorsen (Lost) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) to Earth happens on Tue Oct 26 2083 at a distance of 0.259836 Astronomical Units, or 38,870,982 kilometers:

Tue Oct 26 2083
38,870,982
0.259836

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of 5D/Brorsen (Lost), 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 5D/Brorsen (Lost) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2407440.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.80979600
Orbit inclination i 29.38210000°
Perihelion distance q 0.58984700 AU
88,239,855 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.61240952 AU
839,604,516 km
Semi-major axis a 3.10112826 AU
463,922,186 km
Orbital period period 5.4612 years
1,994.7020 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 1879-Mar-31 00:49:06
2,407,439.5341 JD
Next perihelion transit 1884-Sep-14 17:39
2,409,434.2361 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 14.9468°
Longitude of the ascending node node 102.9676°
Mean anomaly M 0.17432378482129°
Mean motion n 0.18047809°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of 5D/Brorsen (Lost)
View 5D/Brorsen (Lost) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of 5D/Brorsen (Lost) 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
2025 Feb 11 19h 33m 48s -24° 57’ 29” 19.59 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 12 19h 34m 31s -24° 56’ 44” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 13 19h 35m 14s -24° 56’ 01” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 14 19h 35m 56s -24° 55’ 19” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 15 19h 36m 38s -24° 54’ 35” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 16 19h 37m 20s -24° 53’ 54” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 17 19h 38m 02s -24° 53’ 12” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 18 19h 38m 43s -24° 52’ 31” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 19 19h 39m 24s -24° 51’ 52” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 20 19h 40m 05s -24° 51’ 11” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 21 19h 40m 45s -24° 50’ 33” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 22 19h 41m 25s -24° 49’ 56” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 23 19h 42m 04s -24° 49’ 18” 19.58 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 24 19h 42m 43s -24° 48’ 42” 19.58 Sagittarius

Additional Resources