Comet 6P/d'Arrest
Comet 6P/d'Arrest is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 6P/d'Arrest is 01h 01m 30s and the Declination is -11° 37’ 32” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 6P/d'Arrest is 20.23 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 6P/d'Arrest [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]:
- 6P/d'Arrest is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 5° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 6P/d'Arrest is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 6P/d'Arrest Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 6P/d'Arrest 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
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 6P/d'Arrest is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 6P/d'Arrest?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 6P/d'Arrest in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 6P/d'Arrest Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 6P/d'Arrest from Earth is currently 336,469,504 kilometers, equivalent to 2.249160 Astronomical Units. Light takes 18 minutes and 42.3415 seconds to travel from Comet 6P/d'Arrest and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 6P/d'Arrest to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 6P/d'Arrest to Earth happens on Wed Aug 7 2047 at a distance of 0.328330 Astronomical Units, or 49,117,475 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 6P/d'Arrest brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 6P/d'Arrest is 20.23.
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 6P/d'Arrest, 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 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 6P/d'Arrest at epoch 24 February 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459270.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.61266454 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.51248192° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.35462073 AU 202,648,377 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.63994012 AU 843,723,034 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.49728042 AU 523,185,706 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5404 years 2,388.8788 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Sep-17 18:56:31 2,459,475.2892 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2028-Apr-02 16:01 2,461,864.1680 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 178.10493858958° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 138.93679344622° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 329.13860571213° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15069831°/day |
Visualization of Comet 6P/d'Arrest Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 6P/d'Arrest with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 6P/d'Arrest 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 6P/d'Arrest in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 6P/d'Arrest 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 6P/d'Arrest computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 6P/d'Arrest in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Jan 22 | 00h 45m 19s | -13° 37’ 46” | 20.01 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 23 | 00h 47m 30s | -13° 21’ 33” | 20.04 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 24 | 00h 49m 41s | -13° 05’ 22” | 20.07 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 25 | 00h 51m 51s | -12° 49’ 14” | 20.10 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 26 | 00h 54m 01s | -12° 33’ 11” | 20.13 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 27 | 00h 56m 09s | -12° 17’ 11” | 20.16 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 28 | 00h 58m 18s | -12° 01’ 14” | 20.19 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 29 | 01h 00m 27s | -11° 45’ 23” | 20.22 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 30 | 01h 02m 34s | -11° 29’ 34” | 20.25 | Cetus |
| 2022 Jan 31 | 01h 04m 41s | -11° 13’ 50” | 20.28 | Cetus |
| 2022 Feb 01 | 01h 06m 47s | -10° 58’ 09” | 20.30 | Cetus |
| 2022 Feb 02 | 01h 08m 53s | -10° 42’ 33” | 20.33 | Cetus |
| 2022 Feb 03 | 01h 10m 58s | -10° 27’ 02” | 20.36 | Cetus |
| 2022 Feb 04 | 01h 13m 03s | -10° 11’ 35” | 20.39 | Cetus |