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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels

Altitude: 4.5°   Azimuth: 214.1°   Direction: South-West

Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is currently in the constellation of Hydra, at a distance of 1,010,307,986 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 64P/Swift-Gehrels in Hydra on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in Hydra on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 14h 58m 18s and the Declination is -26° 52’ 51” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is 23.87 (JPL).

14h 58m 18s
-26° 52’ 51”
Hydra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.87

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):

Azimuth: 116.9°
Max altitude: 11.6°
Azimuth: 243.1°
  • 64P/Swift-Gehrels is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-West direction at an altitude of 5° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 64P/Swift-Gehrels
Map showing Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels in Hydra on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

64P/Swift-Gehrels
RA: 14h 58m 18s
Dec: -26° 52’ 51”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 1,010,307,986 kilometers, equivalent to 6.753492 Astronomical Units. Light takes 56 minutes and 10.0247 seconds to travel from Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels and arrive to us.

1,010,307,986
6.753492
56 minutes and 10.0247 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels 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 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:

Sun Oct 28 2018
66,541,817
0.444805

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.

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

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 0.68732017
Orbit inclination i 8.94839343°
Perihelion distance q 1.39335048 AU
208,442,266 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.51896387 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 2018-Nov-03 21:53:15
2,458,426.4120 JD
Next perihelion transit 2028-Mar-31 19:14
2,461,862.3014 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 97.144197610159°
Longitude of the ascending node node 300.00097899228°
Mean anomaly M 325.43302179159°
Mean motion n 0.10477636°/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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels
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
2024 Mar 12 15h 00m 05s -26° 51’ 37” 23.90 Hydra
2024 Mar 13 14h 59m 52s -26° 51’ 56” 23.90 Hydra
2024 Mar 14 14h 59m 38s -26° 52’ 13” 23.89 Hydra
2024 Mar 15 14h 59m 24s -26° 52’ 26” 23.89 Hydra
2024 Mar 16 14h 59m 09s -26° 52’ 36” 23.88 Hydra
2024 Mar 17 14h 58m 54s -26° 52’ 44” 23.88 Hydra
2024 Mar 18 14h 58m 38s -26° 52’ 49” 23.87 Hydra
2024 Mar 19 14h 58m 23s -26° 52’ 50” 23.87 Hydra
2024 Mar 20 14h 58m 05s -26° 52’ 49” 23.86 Hydra
2024 Mar 21 14h 57m 47s -26° 52’ 44” 23.86 Hydra
2024 Mar 22 14h 57m 29s -26° 52’ 36” 23.85 Hydra
2024 Mar 23 14h 57m 11s -26° 52’ 24” 23.85 Hydra
2024 Mar 24 14h 56m 53s -26° 52’ 10” 23.85 Hydra
2024 Mar 25 14h 56m 34s -26° 51’ 53” 23.84 Hydra