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public  Miyakonojō, Japan Miyakonojō, Japan  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Tokyo
Sunrise: 5:15 
Transit: 12:19 
Sunset: 19:23
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Comets » 

Comet 65P/Gunn

Below the horizon.  Rise: 19:41 | Tran: 0:10 | Set: 4:39
Alt: -42.65°   Az: 105.56°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet 65P/Gunn is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 287,001,332.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 18h 38m 36s and the Declination is -31° 36’ 45” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 65P/Gunn, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 15.73).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 65P/Gunn in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 65P/Gunn in the constellation of Sagittarius on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 65P/Gunn in the constellation of Sagittarius 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 65P/Gunn 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.

65P/Gunn
RA: 18h 36m 57s
Dec: -31° 38’ 09”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 65P/Gunn. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

18h 38m 36s
-31° 36’ 45”
15h 45m 12s
10h 23m 48s

J2000

18h 36m 57s
-31° 38’ 09”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
15.73

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 65P/Gunn from Miyakonojō, Japan (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Tokyo):

Azimuth: 121.6°
Max altitude: 26.6°
Azimuth: 238.4°

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 65P/Gunn from Earth is currently 287,001,332.0 kilometers, equivalent to 1.9184854080 Astronomical Units. Light takes 15m 57.333s to travel from comet 65P/Gunn and arrive to us.

287,001,332.0
1.9184854080
15m 57.333s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn to Earth happened on Saturday 28 June 2003 at a distance of 1.455606 Astronomical Units, or 217,755,551 kilometers:

Saturday 28 June 2003
217,755,551
1.455606

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 65P/Gunn, 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 65P/Gunn as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 65P/Gunn at epoch January, 04 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458853.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.24998584
Orbit inclination i 9.18417504°
Perihelion distance q 2.91243893 AU
435,694,663 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.85391827 AU
726,135,839 km
Semi-major axis a 3.88317860 AU
580,915,251 km
Orbital period period 7.6523 years
2,794.9850 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp October 17, 2017
2,458,044.1190 JD
Next perihelion transit June 12, 2025
2,460,839.1040 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 213.74047112081°
Longitude of the ascending node node 62.020907620446°
Mean anomaly M 104.24999100835°
Mean motion n 0.12880212°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn 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 25 2025 18h 44m 21s -31° 11’ 44” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jun 26 2025 18h 43m 35s -31° 15’ 26” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jun 27 2025 18h 42m 48s -31° 19’ 02” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jun 28 2025 18h 42m 01s -31° 22’ 35” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jun 29 2025 18h 41m 13s -31° 26’ 02” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jun 30 2025 18h 40m 26s -31° 29’ 24” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 01 2025 18h 39m 38s -31° 32’ 40” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 02 2025 18h 38m 50s -31° 35’ 51” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 03 2025 18h 38m 02s -31° 38’ 56” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 04 2025 18h 37m 15s -31° 41’ 56” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 05 2025 18h 36m 27s -31° 44’ 49” 15.73 Sagittarius
Jul 06 2025 18h 35m 40s -31° 47’ 37” 15.74 Sagittarius
Jul 07 2025 18h 34m 53s -31° 50’ 19” 15.74 Sagittarius
Jul 08 2025 18h 34m 07s -31° 52’ 54” 15.74 Sagittarius

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