Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels Position
Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension is 11h 40m 25s and the Declination is -06° 26’ 41”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels is right now (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
The distance of Comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels from Earth is currently 537,206,976 kilometers, equivalent to 3.591007 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29 minutes and 51.9296 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 0.44480495 Astronomical Units, or 66,541,874 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 21.91.
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 07 December 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458095.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.68731946 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 8.94839009° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.39335309 AU 208,442,656 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
7.51895766 AU 1,124,820,058 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.45615538 AU 666,631,357 km |
| Orbital period | period |
9.4100 years 3,435.8873 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Nov-03 21:53:28 2,458,426.4121 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2028-Mar-31 19:11 2,461,862.2995 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 97.14410525138° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 300.00098545431° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 325.32820872749° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.10477643°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Jan 19 | 11h 42m 52s | -06° 24’ 26” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 20 | 11h 42m 36s | -06° 25’ 06” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 21 | 11h 42m 19s | -06° 25’ 41” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 22 | 11h 41m 59s | -06° 26’ 07” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 23 | 11h 41m 39s | -06° 26’ 26” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 24 | 11h 41m 20s | -06° 26’ 39” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 25 | 11h 40m 58s | -06° 26’ 44” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 26 | 11h 40m 36s | -06° 26’ 44” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 27 | 11h 40m 13s | -06° 26’ 35” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 28 | 11h 39m 48s | -06° 26’ 21” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 29 | 11h 39m 24s | -06° 25’ 59” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 30 | 11h 38m 57s | -06° 25’ 29” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Jan 31 | 11h 38m 30s | -06° 24’ 54” | 21.91 | Virgo |
| 2020 Feb 01 | 11h 38m 03s | -06° 24’ 11” | 21.92 | Virgo |