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Comets » 

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Above the horizon.  Rise: 18:40 | Tran: 22:35 | Set: 2:34
Alt: 12.30°   Az: 206.29°   Direction: South-West

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 712,558,810.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 48m 11s and the Declination is -22° 15’ 33” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 21.92).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the constellation of Libra 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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.

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
RA: 15h 46m 41s
Dec: -22° 10’ 53”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 48m 11s
-22° 15’ 33”
01h 51m 31s
17h 39m 42s

J2000

15h 46m 41s
-22° 10’ 53”

Additional Information

Libra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.92

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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 112.3°
Max altitude: 16.3°
Azimuth: 247.7°

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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth is currently 712,558,810.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.7631614452 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39m 36.840s to travel from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and arrive to us.

712,558,810.0
4.7631614452
39m 36.840s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to Earth happened on Friday 12 November 2021 at a distance of 0.418168 Astronomical Units, or 62,556,975 kilometers:

Friday 12 November 2021
62,556,975
0.418168

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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at epoch October, 09 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457305.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64090813
Orbit inclination i 7.04029491°
Perihelion distance q 1.24326564 AU
185,989,893 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.68123334 AU
849,900,412 km
Semi-major axis a 3.46224949 AU
517,945,153 km
Orbital period period 6.4424 years
2,353.0761 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp August 13, 2015
2,457,247.5887 JD
Next perihelion transit January 21, 2022
2,459,600.6647 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 12.798249734157°
Longitude of the ascending node node 50.135573804414°
Mean anomaly M 8.8599274187588°
Mean motion n 0.15299123°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 17 2025 15h 52m 29s -22° 28’ 49” 21.90 Scorpius
Jun 18 2025 15h 51m 55s -22° 27’ 07” 21.90 Scorpius
Jun 19 2025 15h 51m 22s -22° 25’ 25” 21.90 Scorpius
Jun 20 2025 15h 50m 49s -22° 23’ 44” 21.91 Scorpius
Jun 21 2025 15h 50m 16s -22° 22’ 04” 21.91 Scorpius
Jun 22 2025 15h 49m 44s -22° 20’ 25” 21.91 Scorpius
Jun 23 2025 15h 49m 12s -22° 18’ 46” 21.92 Scorpius
Jun 24 2025 15h 48m 41s -22° 17’ 07” 21.92 Libra
Jun 25 2025 15h 48m 10s -22° 15’ 30” 21.92 Libra
Jun 26 2025 15h 47m 41s -22° 13’ 55” 21.92 Libra
Jun 27 2025 15h 47m 12s -22° 12’ 20” 21.93 Libra
Jun 28 2025 15h 46m 43s -22° 10’ 47” 21.93 Libra
Jun 29 2025 15h 46m 15s -22° 09’ 15” 21.93 Libra
Jun 30 2025 15h 45m 48s -22° 07’ 45” 21.94 Libra

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