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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach

Altitude: -24.5°   Azimuth: 31.6°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is currently in the constellation of Leo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is 09h 52m 23s and the Declination is +09° 04’ 52” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is 20.20 (JPL).

09h 52m 23s
+09° 04’ 52”
Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.20

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 80.9°
Max altitude: 47.6°
Azimuth: 279.1°
  • 61P/Shajn-Schaldach is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • 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.

Available Resources

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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.

Finder chart of 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in Leo on December,05 2023
Map showing Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in Leo on December, 05 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 61P/Shajn-Schaldach
Map showing Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in Leo on December, 05 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher 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: 09h 52m 23s
Dec: +09° 04’ 52”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach from Earth is currently 453,890,420 kilometers, equivalent to 3.034070 Astronomical Units. Light takes 25 minutes and 14.0155 seconds to travel from Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach and arrive to us.

453,890,420
3.034070
25 minutes and 14.0155 seconds

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 of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach to Earth happens on Thu Oct 6 2050 at a distance of 1.032530 Astronomical Units, or 154,464,228 kilometers:

Thu Oct 6 2050
154,464,228
1.032530

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

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Brightness and 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

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach at epoch 23 November 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457716.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.42550894
Orbit inclination i 6.00639448°
Perihelion distance q 2.11432798 AU
316,298,965 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.24637140 AU
784,845,991 km
Semi-major axis a 3.68034969 AU
550,572,478 km
Orbital period period 7.0606 years
2,578.8855 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2015-Oct-02 03:10:19
2,457,297.6322 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Oct-24 00:25
2,459,876.5176 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 221.92127909017°
Longitude of the ascending node node 163.01950144858°
Mean anomaly M 58.471933154246°
Mean motion n 0.13959519°/day

Visualization of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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 61P/Shajn-Schaldach
View Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 28 09h 50m 32s +09° 15’ 51” 20.23 Leo
2023 Nov 29 09h 50m 52s +09° 14’ 05” 20.22 Leo
2023 Nov 30 09h 51m 07s +09° 12’ 26” 20.22 Leo
2023 Dec 01 09h 51m 24s +09° 10’ 54” 20.22 Leo
2023 Dec 02 09h 51m 38s +09° 09’ 27” 20.21 Leo
2023 Dec 03 09h 51m 52s +09° 08’ 05” 20.21 Leo
2023 Dec 04 09h 52m 05s +09° 06’ 51” 20.20 Leo
2023 Dec 05 09h 52m 15s +09° 05’ 43” 20.20 Leo
2023 Dec 06 09h 52m 26s +09° 04’ 41” 20.20 Leo
2023 Dec 07 09h 52m 35s +09° 03’ 46” 20.19 Leo
2023 Dec 08 09h 52m 42s +09° 02’ 57” 20.19 Leo
2023 Dec 09 09h 52m 50s +09° 02’ 16” 20.19 Leo
2023 Dec 10 09h 52m 54s +09° 01’ 40” 20.18 Leo
2023 Dec 11 09h 52m 59s +09° 01’ 11” 20.18 Leo