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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:38  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:28

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is 22h 12m 26s and the Declination is -08° 16’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is 30.67 (JPL).

22h 12m 26s
-08° 16’ 37”
Aquarius
30.67

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 98.3°
Max altitude: 30.2°
Azimuth: 261.7°
  • 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Given its current magnitude, 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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.

Available Resources

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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.

Map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 in Aquarius on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 in Aquarius on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

60P/Tsuchinshan 2
RA: 22h 12m 26s
Dec: -08° 16’ 37”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 from Earth is currently 864,879,273 kilometers, equivalent to 5.781361 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 4.9267 seconds to travel from Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 and arrive to us.

864,879,273
5.781361
48 minutes and 4.9267 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 to Earth happens on Sun Jan 21 2052 at a distance of 0.661771 Astronomical Units, or 98,999,555 kilometers:

Sun Jan 21 2052
98,999,555
0.661771

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

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is 30.67.

30.67
-
-

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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2, 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 Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 as a function of time

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 at epoch 16 July 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457220.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.53853669
Orbit inclination i 3.60894919°
Perihelion distance q 1.61956677 AU
242,283,740 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.39969885 AU
807,783,452 km
Semi-major axis a 3.50963281 AU
525,033,596 km
Orbital period period 6.5751 years
2,401.5462 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2012-May-13 21:20:31
2,456,061.3893 JD
Next perihelion transit 2018-Dec-10 10:27
2,458,462.9355 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 216.49366907536°
Longitude of the ascending node node 267.66129277937°
Mean anomaly M 173.75466919847°
Mean motion n 0.14990342°/day

Visualization of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2
View Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 24 22h 06m 41s -08° 51’ 42” 30.74 Aquarius
2023 Mar 25 22h 07m 24s -08° 47’ 13” 30.73 Aquarius
2023 Mar 26 22h 08m 09s -08° 42’ 46” 30.72 Aquarius
2023 Mar 27 22h 08m 53s -08° 38’ 17” 30.71 Aquarius
2023 Mar 28 22h 09m 38s -08° 33’ 51” 30.70 Aquarius
2023 Mar 29 22h 10m 20s -08° 29’ 24” 30.69 Aquarius
2023 Mar 30 22h 11m 04s -08° 24’ 57” 30.69 Aquarius
2023 Mar 31 22h 11m 48s -08° 20’ 32” 30.68 Aquarius
2023 Apr 01 22h 12m 30s -08° 16’ 08” 30.67 Aquarius
2023 Apr 02 22h 13m 14s -08° 11’ 43” 30.66 Aquarius
2023 Apr 03 22h 13m 55s -08° 07’ 18” 30.65 Aquarius
2023 Apr 04 22h 14m 38s -08° 02’ 56” 30.64 Aquarius
2023 Apr 05 22h 15m 20s -07° 58’ 33” 30.63 Aquarius
2023 Apr 06 22h 16m 00s -07° 54’ 11” 30.62 Aquarius