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Comets » 

Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan

Below the horizon.  Rise: 4:35 | Tran: 8:21 | Set: 12:06
Alt: -43.41°   Az: 287.55°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, at a distance of 633,332,042.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 17h 40m 19s and the Declination is -23° 39’ 20” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan is 24.93 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in Ophiuchus on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in Ophiuchus 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 62P/Tsuchinshan is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

62P/Tsuchinshan
RA: 17h 38m 47s
Dec: -23° 38’ 35”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

17h 40m 19s
-23° 39’ 20”
08h 43m 29s
02h 23m 48s

J2000

17h 38m 47s
-23° 38’ 35”

Additional Information

Ophiuchus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.93

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 62P/Tsuchinshan from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 113.6°
Max altitude: 14.9°
Azimuth: 246.3°
  • 62P/Tsuchinshan is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 62P/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 62P/Tsuchinshan from Earth is currently 633,332,042.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.2335632121 Astronomical Units. Light takes 35m 12.568s to travel from Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan and arrive to us.

633,332,042.0
4.2335632121
35m 12.568s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 62P/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 62P/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 62P/Tsuchinshan 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 62P/Tsuchinshan to Earth happens on Sun Jan 25 2088 at a distance of 0.409429 Astronomical Units, or 61,249,726 kilometers:

Sun Jan 25 2088
61,249,726
0.409429

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 62P/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 62P/Tsuchinshan as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan at epoch 24 October 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458051.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.59747740
Orbit inclination i 9.70777531°
Perihelion distance q 1.38380480 AU
207,014,253 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.49185789 AU
821,570,248 km
Semi-major axis a 3.43783135 AU
514,292,250 km
Orbital period period 6.3743 years
2,328.2268 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2017-Nov-16 02:53:12
2,458,073.6203 JD
Next perihelion transit 2024-Apr-01 08:19
2,460,401.8470 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 30.348667022866°
Longitude of the ascending node node 90.244520033111°
Mean anomaly M 356.57967149486°
Mean motion n 0.15462411°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan
View Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 62P/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 17h 33m 04s -23° 31’ 33” 24.89 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 03 17h 34m 03s -23° 32’ 39” 24.90 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 04 17h 35m 00s -23° 33’ 43” 24.90 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 05 17h 35m 58s -23° 34’ 45” 24.91 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 06 17h 36m 54s -23° 35’ 46” 24.91 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 07 17h 37m 50s -23° 36’ 46” 24.92 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 08 17h 38m 45s -23° 37’ 44” 24.92 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 09 17h 39m 40s -23° 38’ 40” 24.93 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 10 17h 40m 34s -23° 39’ 36” 24.93 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 11 17h 41m 27s -23° 40’ 29” 24.94 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 12 17h 42m 20s -23° 41’ 22” 24.94 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 13 17h 43m 12s -23° 42’ 13” 24.94 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 14 17h 44m 03s -23° 43’ 04” 24.95 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 15 17h 44m 54s -23° 43’ 53” 24.95 Ophiuchus

Additional Resources