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Comets » 

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan

Above the horizon.  Rise: 9:13 | Tran: 16:13 | Set: 23:12
Alt: 49.44°   Az: 196.49°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 366,633,700.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 01h 33m 19s and the Declination is +11° 53’ 26” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is 19.90 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan in Pisces on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan in Pisces on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

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

60P/Tsuchinshan
RA: 01h 31m 59s
Dec: +11° 45’ 44”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

01h 33m 19s
+11° 53’ 26”
00h 43m 28s
02h 16m 48s

J2000

01h 31m 59s
+11° 45’ 44”

Additional Information

Pisces
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.90

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 Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.1°
Max altitude: 50.4°
Azimuth: 281.9°
  • 60P/Tsuchinshan is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 49.44° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 60P/Tsuchinshan 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 Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan from Earth is currently 366,633,700.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.4507949096 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20m 22.958s to travel from Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan and arrive to us.

366,633,700.0
2.4507949096
20m 22.958s

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

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 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.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan, 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 as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 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

Orbit Visualization

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

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 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 02 01h 22m 22s +11° 01’ 37” 20.06 Pisces
2025 Feb 03 01h 23m 44s +11° 08’ 04” 20.04 Pisces
2025 Feb 04 01h 25m 07s +11° 14’ 36” 20.02 Pisces
2025 Feb 05 01h 26m 31s +11° 21’ 13” 20.00 Pisces
2025 Feb 06 01h 27m 56s +11° 27’ 55” 19.98 Pisces
2025 Feb 07 01h 29m 22s +11° 34’ 42” 19.96 Pisces
2025 Feb 08 01h 30m 48s +11° 41’ 34” 19.93 Pisces
2025 Feb 09 01h 32m 16s +11° 48’ 30” 19.91 Pisces
2025 Feb 10 01h 33m 45s +11° 55’ 31” 19.89 Pisces
2025 Feb 11 01h 35m 16s +12° 02’ 34” 19.87 Pisces
2025 Feb 12 01h 36m 47s +12° 09’ 43” 19.84 Pisces
2025 Feb 13 01h 38m 19s +12° 16’ 55” 19.82 Pisces
2025 Feb 14 01h 39m 51s +12° 24’ 12” 19.80 Pisces
2025 Feb 15 01h 41m 25s +12° 31’ 33” 19.78 Pisces

Additional Resources