Latest Comet 68P/Klemola
Comet 68P/Klemola is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 68P/Klemola is 05h 53m 29s and the Declination is +14° 06’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 68P/Klemola is 22.87 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 68P/Klemola [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]:
- 68P/Klemola is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West direction at an altitude of 25° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 68P/Klemola is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 68P/Klemola Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 68P/Klemola 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 68P/Klemola is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 68P/Klemola?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 68P/Klemola in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 68P/Klemola Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 68P/Klemola from Earth is currently 831,469,235 kilometers, equivalent to 5.558029 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46 minutes and 13.4828 seconds to travel from Comet 68P/Klemola and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 68P/Klemola to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 68P/Klemola to Earth happens on Thu Aug 14 2081 at a distance of 1.062222 Astronomical Units, or 158,906,193 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 68P/Klemola brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 68P/Klemola is 22.87.
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 68P/Klemola, 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 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 68P/Klemola at epoch 27 February 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457446.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.64033260 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.18350805° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.76205307 AU 263,599,387 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
8.03618311 AU 1,202,195,885 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.89911809 AU 732,897,636 km |
| Orbital period | period |
10.8400 years 3,960.7305 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2019-Nov-11 22:08:41 2,458,799.4227 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2030-Sep-15 15:40 2,462,760.1532 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 153.83989025349° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 175.30038456921° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 237.0297098905° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.09089232°/day |
Visualization of Comet 68P/Klemola Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 68P/Klemola with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 68P/Klemola 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 68P/Klemola in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 68P/Klemola 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 68P/Klemola computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 68P/Klemola in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 10 | 05h 46m 35s | +13° 57’ 16” | 22.78 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 11 | 05h 47m 26s | +13° 58’ 36” | 22.79 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 12 | 05h 48m 20s | +13° 59’ 52” | 22.80 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 13 | 05h 49m 13s | +14° 01’ 06” | 22.81 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 14 | 05h 50m 07s | +14° 02’ 17” | 22.82 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 15 | 05h 50m 59s | +14° 03’ 28” | 22.84 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 16 | 05h 51m 54s | +14° 04’ 35” | 22.85 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 17 | 05h 52m 46s | +14° 05’ 39” | 22.86 | Taurus |
| 2021 May 18 | 05h 53m 40s | +14° 06’ 41” | 22.87 | Orion |
| 2021 May 19 | 05h 54m 34s | +14° 07’ 41” | 22.88 | Orion |
| 2021 May 20 | 05h 55m 28s | +14° 08’ 38” | 22.89 | Orion |
| 2021 May 21 | 05h 56m 22s | +14° 09’ 33” | 22.90 | Orion |
| 2021 May 22 | 05h 57m 18s | +14° 10’ 24” | 22.91 | Orion |
| 2021 May 23 | 05h 58m 11s | +14° 11’ 15” | 22.92 | Orion |