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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan

Altitude: 31.9°   Azimuth: 141.3°   Direction: South-East

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is currently in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 736,572,646 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 60P/Tsuchinshan in Pisces on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan in Pisces on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is 23h 31m 35s and the Declination is +00° 01’ 53” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is 27.64 (JPL).

23h 31m 35s
+00° 01’ 53”
Pisces
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
27.64

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.

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

Azimuth: 90.0°
Max altitude: 38.6°
Azimuth: 270.1°
  • 60P/Tsuchinshan is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 32° 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 60P/Tsuchinshan
Map showing Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan in Pisces on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher 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: 23h 31m 35s
Dec: +00° 01’ 53”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan from Earth is currently 736,572,646 kilometers, equivalent to 4.923684 Astronomical Units. Light takes 40 minutes and 56.9419 seconds to travel from Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan and arrive to us.

736,572,646
4.923684
40 minutes and 56.9419 seconds

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 of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan to Earth

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.

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan Brightness and 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

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 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

Visualization of Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan Orbit

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

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 12 23h 23m 57s -00° 47’ 21” 27.74 Pisces
2024 Mar 13 23h 24m 57s -00° 40’ 45” 27.72 Pisces
2024 Mar 14 23h 25m 59s -00° 34’ 06” 27.71 Pisces
2024 Mar 15 23h 27m 02s -00° 27’ 29” 27.70 Pisces
2024 Mar 16 23h 28m 04s -00° 20’ 49” 27.68 Pisces
2024 Mar 17 23h 29m 05s -00° 14’ 08” 27.67 Pisces
2024 Mar 18 23h 30m 07s -00° 07’ 27” 27.66 Pisces
2024 Mar 19 23h 31m 09s -00° 00’ 45” 27.64 Pisces
2024 Mar 20 23h 32m 12s +00° 05’ 57” 27.63 Pisces
2024 Mar 21 23h 33m 15s +00° 12’ 42” 27.61 Pisces
2024 Mar 22 23h 34m 17s +00° 19’ 27” 27.60 Pisces
2024 Mar 23 23h 35m 20s +00° 26’ 13” 27.58 Pisces
2024 Mar 24 23h 36m 21s +00° 33’ 01” 27.57 Pisces
2024 Mar 25 23h 37m 23s +00° 39’ 48” 27.55 Pisces