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Comets » 

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach

Below the horizon.  Rise: 14:13 | Tran: 20:39 | Set: 3:09
Alt: -13.45°   Az: 62.72°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 671,794,679.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 11h 30m 32s and the Declination is +05° 29’ 28” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is 24.20 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in Leo on May, 19 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in Leo on May, 19 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

61P/Shajn-Schaldach
RA: 11h 29m 13s
Dec: +05° 37’ 52”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

11h 30m 32s
+05° 29’ 28”
16h 01m 05s
03h 31m 37s

J2000

11h 29m 13s
+05° 37’ 52”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.20

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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 84.5°
Max altitude: 44.0°
Azimuth: 275.5°
  • 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach from Earth is currently 671,794,679.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.4906700601 Astronomical Units. Light takes 37m 20.866s to travel from Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach and arrive to us.

671,794,679.0
4.4906700601
37m 20.866s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach to Earth happens on Tue Oct 4 2050 at a distance of 1.037695 Astronomical Units, or 155,236,965 kilometers:

Tue Oct 4 2050
155,236,965
1.037695

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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach, 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach at epoch 29 September 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459852.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.42420483
Orbit inclination i 6.00052492°
Perihelion distance q 2.12586238 AU
318,024,486 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.25823011 AU
786,620,029 km
Semi-major axis a 3.69204624 AU
552,322,258 km
Orbital period period 7.0943 years
2,591.1892 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Oct-23 19:34:06
2,459,876.3154 JD
Next perihelion transit 2029-Nov-27 00:06
2,462,467.5046 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 221.65697381257°
Longitude of the ascending node node 162.96850642532°
Mean anomaly M 356.69127667972°
Mean motion n 0.13893235°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach
View Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 May 12 11h 31m 01s +05° 25’ 47” 24.14 Leo
2025 May 13 11h 30m 55s +05° 26’ 33” 24.15 Leo
2025 May 14 11h 30m 49s +05° 27’ 15” 24.15 Leo
2025 May 15 11h 30m 44s +05° 27’ 51” 24.16 Leo
2025 May 16 11h 30m 40s +05° 28’ 22” 24.17 Leo
2025 May 17 11h 30m 37s +05° 28’ 47” 24.18 Leo
2025 May 18 11h 30m 34s +05° 29’ 08” 24.19 Leo
2025 May 19 11h 30m 32s +05° 29’ 23” 24.20 Leo
2025 May 20 11h 30m 31s +05° 29’ 33” 24.21 Leo
2025 May 21 11h 30m 30s +05° 29’ 39” 24.22 Leo
2025 May 22 11h 30m 31s +05° 29’ 39” 24.23 Leo
2025 May 23 11h 30m 32s +05° 29’ 34” 24.24 Leo
2025 May 24 11h 30m 33s +05° 29’ 25” 24.25 Leo
2025 May 25 11h 30m 36s +05° 29’ 10” 24.26 Leo

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