Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 13h 25m 23s and the Declination is -17° 32’ 11” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 24.41 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 64P/Swift-Gehrels is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 20° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 64P/Swift-Gehrels is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 64P/Swift-Gehrels rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth is currently 1,238,435,332 kilometers, equivalent to 8.278429 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 8 minutes and 50.9756 seconds to travel from Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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.
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 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels to Earth happens on Sun Oct 28 2018 at a distance of 0.444805 Astronomical Units, or 66,541,866 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 24.41.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels, 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.
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels at epoch 08 December 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458096.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.68731996 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 8.94839655° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.39335149 AU 208,442,417 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
7.51896342 AU 1,124,820,920 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.45615746 AU 666,631,668 km |
| Orbital period | period |
9.4070 years 3,435.8897 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Nov-03 21:53:15 2,458,426.4120 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2028-Mar-31 19:14 2,461,862.3017 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 97.144163995535° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 300.00096865313° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 325.43302547078° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.10477635°/day |
Visualization of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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!
View Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Sep 21 | 13h 21m 24s | -17° 12’ 03” | 24.39 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 22 | 13h 21m 56s | -17° 14’ 39” | 24.39 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 23 | 13h 22m 27s | -17° 17’ 17” | 24.40 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 24 | 13h 22m 59s | -17° 19’ 56” | 24.40 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 25 | 13h 23m 31s | -17° 22’ 37” | 24.40 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 26 | 13h 24m 03s | -17° 25’ 19” | 24.40 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 27 | 13h 24m 36s | -17° 28’ 03” | 24.41 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 28 | 13h 25m 08s | -17° 30’ 47” | 24.41 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 29 | 13h 25m 40s | -17° 33’ 33” | 24.41 | Virgo |
| 2022 Sep 30 | 13h 26m 12s | -17° 36’ 21” | 24.41 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 01 | 13h 26m 44s | -17° 39’ 10” | 24.41 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 02 | 13h 27m 18s | -17° 41’ 59” | 24.42 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 03 | 13h 27m 51s | -17° 44’ 50” | 24.42 | Virgo |
| 2022 Oct 04 | 13h 28m 23s | -17° 47’ 43” | 24.42 | Virgo |