Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is 20h 05m 15s and the Declination is -23° 16’ 35” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is 19.66 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko [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]:

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Additional information about Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth is currently 602,280,425 kilometers, equivalent to 4.025996 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 28.9913 seconds to travel from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest approach of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to Earth happens on Fri Nov 12 2021 at a distance of 0.418194 Astronomical Units, or 62,560,982 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is 19.66.

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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko rise and set times

Today's Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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.

Visualization of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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!

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2021 Jan 18	19h 53m 31s	-23° 48’ 54”	19.77	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 19	19h 55m 04s	-23° 44’ 50”	19.75	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 20	19h 56m 35s	-23° 40’ 44”	19.74	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 21	19h 58m 08s	-23° 36’ 33”	19.72	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 22	19h 59m 39s	-23° 32’ 21”	19.71	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 23	20h 01m 13s	-23° 28’ 04”	19.70	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 24	20h 02m 44s	-23° 23’ 43”	19.68	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 25	20h 04m 18s	-23° 19’ 19”	19.67	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 26	20h 05m 51s	-23° 14’ 52”	19.65	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 27	20h 07m 24s	-23° 10’ 22”	19.64	Sagittarius
2021 Jan 28	20h 08m 57s	-23° 05’ 48”	19.62	Capricornus
2021 Jan 29	20h 10m 31s	-23° 01’ 09”	19.61	Capricornus
2021 Jan 30	20h 12m 05s	-22° 56’ 30”	19.59	Capricornus
2021 Jan 31	20h 13m 38s	-22° 51’ 45”	19.57	Capricornus