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 41m 08s and the Declination is -21° 14’ 02” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 23.88 (JPL).

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 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth?)
• When does Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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 1,000,339,860 kilometers, equivalent to 6.686859 Astronomical Units. Light takes 55 minutes and 36.7746 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 1 January 2013 and 30 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 66,541,817 kilometers:

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

Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Brightness and Light Curve

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.

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!

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
2023 May 22	13h 43m 50s	-21° 35’ 25”	23.86	Virgo
2023 May 23	13h 43m 27s	-21° 32’ 34”	23.86	Virgo
2023 May 24	13h 43m 05s	-21° 29’ 44”	23.87	Virgo
2023 May 25	13h 42m 42s	-21° 26’ 53”	23.87	Virgo
2023 May 26	13h 42m 21s	-21° 24’ 03”	23.87	Virgo
2023 May 27	13h 42m 01s	-21° 21’ 15”	23.87	Virgo
2023 May 28	13h 41m 40s	-21° 18’ 29”	23.88	Virgo
2023 May 29	13h 41m 20s	-21° 15’ 42”	23.88	Virgo
2023 May 30	13h 41m 00s	-21° 12’ 56”	23.88	Virgo
2023 May 31	13h 40m 41s	-21° 10’ 12”	23.89	Virgo
2023 Jun 01	13h 40m 23s	-21° 07’ 28”	23.89	Virgo
2023 Jun 02	13h 40m 05s	-21° 04’ 47”	23.89	Virgo
2023 Jun 03	13h 39m 47s	-21° 02’ 07”	23.90	Virgo
2023 Jun 04	13h 39m 29s	-20° 59’ 29”	23.90	Virgo