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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:12 
Transit: 12:56 
Sunset: 20:41
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Comet 68P/Klemola

Above the horizon.  Rise: 12:17 | Tran: 19:03 | Set: 1:53
Alt: 45.81°   Az: 204.09°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet 68P/Klemola is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 1,208,985,570.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 09h 30m 13s and the Declination is +09° 28’ 39” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 68P/Klemola is 26.43 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 68P/Klemola in Leo on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 68P/Klemola in Leo on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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.

68P/Klemola
RA: 09h 28m 51s
Dec: +09° 35’ 22”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 68P/Klemola. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

09h 30m 13s
+09° 28’ 39”
01h 07m 04s
10h 37m 17s

J2000

09h 28m 51s
+09° 35’ 22”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
26.43

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 68P/Klemola from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 80.5°
Max altitude: 48.0°
Azimuth: 279.5°
  • 68P/Klemola is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 45.81° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 68P/Klemola is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 68P/Klemola from Earth is currently 1,208,985,570.0 kilometers, equivalent to 8.0815693722 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 7m 12.742s to travel from Comet 68P/Klemola and arrive to us.

1,208,985,570.0
8.0815693722
1h 7m 12.742s

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 68P/Klemola from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 68P/Klemola to Earth happens on Thu Aug 14 2081 at a distance of 1.062222 Astronomical Units, or 158,906,194 kilometers:

Thu Aug 14 2081
158,906,194
1.062222

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

Light Curve

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 68P/Klemola as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 68P/Klemola at epoch 05 March 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457453.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64034454
Orbit inclination i 11.18434036°
Perihelion distance q 1.76206014 AU
263,600,445 km
Aphelion distance Q 8.03654058 AU
1,202,249,361 km
Semi-major axis a 4.89930036 AU
732,924,903 km
Orbital period period 10.8445 years
3,960.9515 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2019-Nov-11 19:47:30
2,458,799.3247 JD
Next perihelion transit 2030-Sep-15 18:37
2,462,760.2762 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 153.83578295541°
Longitude of the ascending node node 175.29971061525°
Mean anomaly M 237.68169437253°
Mean motion n 0.09088725°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 68P/Klemola
View Comet 68P/Klemola in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 May 06 09h 29m 29s +09° 24’ 51” 26.39 Leo
2025 May 07 09h 29m 33s +09° 25’ 29” 26.39 Leo
2025 May 08 09h 29m 38s +09° 26’ 04” 26.40 Leo
2025 May 09 09h 29m 43s +09° 26’ 37” 26.40 Leo
2025 May 10 09h 29m 48s +09° 27’ 07” 26.41 Leo
2025 May 11 09h 29m 54s +09° 27’ 35” 26.41 Leo
2025 May 12 09h 30m 00s +09° 27’ 59” 26.42 Leo
2025 May 13 09h 30m 07s +09° 28’ 22” 26.42 Leo
2025 May 14 09h 30m 14s +09° 28’ 43” 26.43 Leo
2025 May 15 09h 30m 22s +09° 29’ 01” 26.43 Leo
2025 May 16 09h 30m 30s +09° 29’ 17” 26.43 Leo
2025 May 17 09h 30m 38s +09° 29’ 30” 26.44 Leo
2025 May 18 09h 30m 47s +09° 29’ 40” 26.44 Leo
2025 May 19 09h 30m 57s +09° 29’ 49” 26.45 Leo

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