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Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels

Below the horizon.  Rise: 18:23 | Tran: 21:43 | Set: 1:08
Alt: -51.71°   Az: 65.34°   Direction: South-West

Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 870,815,013.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 08m 50s and the Declination is -26° 56’ 32” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 23.24).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

64P/Swift-Gehrels
RA: 15h 07m 19s
Dec: -26° 50’ 44”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 08m 50s
-26° 56’ 32”
14h 36m 40s
05h 45m 31s

J2000

15h 07m 19s
-26° 50’ 44”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.24

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.9°
Max altitude: 11.6°
Azimuth: 243.0°

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 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth is currently 870,815,013.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.8210388218 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48m 24.726s to travel from comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels and arrive to us.

870,815,013.0
5.8210388218
48m 24.726s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels to Earth happened on Sunday 28 October 2018 at a distance of 0.444805 Astronomical Units, or 66,541,817 kilometers:

Sunday 28 October 2018
66,541,817
0.444805

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels at epoch December, 08 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458096.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.68732017
Orbit inclination i 8.94839346°
Perihelion distance q 1.39335048 AU
208,442,266 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.51896388 AU
1,124,820,988 km
Semi-major axis a 4.45615718 AU
666,631,627 km
Orbital period period 9.4070 years
3,435.8894 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp November 3, 2018
2,458,426.4120 JD
Next perihelion transit March 31, 2028
2,461,862.3014 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 97.144196873722°
Longitude of the ascending node node 300.00097941865°
Mean anomaly M 325.4330218687°
Mean motion n 0.10477636°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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
Jun 20 2025 15h 11m 38s -27° 15’ 46” 23.22 Libra
Jun 21 2025 15h 11m 14s -27° 13’ 09” 23.22 Libra
Jun 22 2025 15h 10m 50s -27° 10’ 33” 23.23 Libra
Jun 23 2025 15h 10m 27s -27° 07’ 58” 23.23 Libra
Jun 24 2025 15h 10m 04s -27° 05’ 22” 23.23 Libra
Jun 25 2025 15h 09m 42s -27° 02’ 49” 23.23 Libra
Jun 26 2025 15h 09m 21s -27° 00’ 16” 23.23 Libra
Jun 27 2025 15h 09m 00s -26° 57’ 44” 23.24 Libra
Jun 28 2025 15h 08m 40s -26° 55’ 13” 23.24 Libra
Jun 29 2025 15h 08m 19s -26° 52’ 43” 23.24 Libra
Jun 30 2025 15h 08m 00s -26° 50’ 14” 23.24 Libra
Jul 01 2025 15h 07m 42s -26° 47’ 47” 23.24 Libra
Jul 02 2025 15h 07m 24s -26° 45’ 21” 23.25 Libra
Jul 03 2025 15h 07m 07s -26° 42’ 56” 23.25 Libra

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