Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2
Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Position
Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension is 17h 16m 42s and the Declination is -24° 03’ 47”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 is right now (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
The distance of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 from Earth is currently 629,145,354 kilometers, equivalent to 4.205577 Astronomical Units. Light takes 34 minutes and 58.6030 seconds to travel from Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 and arrive to us.
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.
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 January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 to Earth happens on Sun Jan 21 2052 at a distance of 0.66177081 Astronomical Units, or 98,999,504 kilometers:
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 26.30.
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.
Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 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 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 at epoch 30 June 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457204.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.53854862 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.60903049° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.61951146 AU 242,275,466 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.39969584 AU 807,783,002 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.50960365 AU 525,029,234 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5700 years 2,401.5163 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2012-May-13 21:24:46 2,456,061.3922 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2018-Dec-10 09:48 2,458,462.9085 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 216.49214962759° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 267.66213164084° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 171.3579078061° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.14990529°/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!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Jan 19 | 17h 07m 41s | -23° 55’ 12” | 26.21 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 20 | 17h 08m 53s | -23° 56’ 26” | 26.22 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 21 | 17h 10m 03s | -23° 57’ 37” | 26.23 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 22 | 17h 11m 12s | -23° 58’ 45” | 26.24 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 23 | 17h 12m 21s | -23° 59’ 53” | 26.26 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 24 | 17h 13m 31s | -24° 00’ 56” | 26.27 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 25 | 17h 14m 39s | -24° 01’ 59” | 26.28 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 26 | 17h 15m 46s | -24° 02’ 58” | 26.29 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 27 | 17h 16m 53s | -24° 03’ 56” | 26.30 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 28 | 17h 18m 00s | -24° 04’ 50” | 26.31 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 29 | 17h 19m 05s | -24° 05’ 44” | 26.32 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 30 | 17h 20m 11s | -24° 06’ 34” | 26.34 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Jan 31 | 17h 21m 15s | -24° 07’ 23” | 26.35 | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Feb 01 | 17h 22m 19s | -24° 08’ 09” | 26.36 | Ophiucus |