Latest Comet 65P/Gunn
Comet 65P/Gunn is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 65P/Gunn is 05h 23m 46s and the Declination is +26° 37’ 13” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 65P/Gunn is 19.98 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 65P/Gunn [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]:
- 65P/Gunn is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 63° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 65P/Gunn is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 65P/Gunn Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 65P/Gunn 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.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 65P/Gunn is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 65P/Gunn?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 65P/Gunn in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 65P/Gunn Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 65P/Gunn from Earth is currently 850,699,067 kilometers, equivalent to 5.686572 Astronomical Units. Light takes 47 minutes and 17.6266 seconds to travel from Comet 65P/Gunn and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 65P/Gunn to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 65P/Gunn to Earth happens on Fri Jun 15 2040 at a distance of 1.678774 Astronomical Units, or 251,141,003 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 65P/Gunn brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 65P/Gunn is 19.98.
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 65P/Gunn, 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 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 65P/Gunn at epoch 18 March 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457831.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.25039088 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 9.18413933° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.91026309 AU 435,369,162 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.85448521 AU 726,220,652 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.88237415 AU 580,794,907 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7.6500 years 2,794.1165 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2017-Oct-16 12:22:51 2,458,043.0159 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Jun-10 15:10 2,460,837.1324 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 213.48106976049° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 62.017373902391° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 332.74783747249° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.12884216°/day |
Visualization of Comet 65P/Gunn Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 65P/Gunn with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 65P/Gunn 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 65P/Gunn in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 65P/Gunn 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 65P/Gunn in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 05 | 05h 16m 35s | +26° 28’ 27” | 19.95 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 06 | 05h 17m 30s | +26° 29’ 38” | 19.96 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 07 | 05h 18m 27s | +26° 30’ 48” | 19.96 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 08 | 05h 19m 23s | +26° 31’ 59” | 19.97 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 09 | 05h 20m 18s | +26° 33’ 08” | 19.97 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 10 | 05h 21m 15s | +26° 34’ 17” | 19.97 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 11 | 05h 22m 13s | +26° 35’ 25” | 19.98 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 12 | 05h 23m 09s | +26° 36’ 33” | 19.98 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 13 | 05h 24m 07s | +26° 37’ 39” | 19.98 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 14 | 05h 25m 05s | +26° 38’ 44” | 19.99 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 15 | 05h 26m 03s | +26° 39’ 50” | 19.99 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 16 | 05h 27m 01s | +26° 40’ 54” | 19.99 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 17 | 05h 28m 00s | +26° 41’ 57” | 20.00 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 18 | 05h 28m 58s | +26° 43’ 00” | 20.00 | Taurus |