Latest Comet 6P/d'Arrest
Comet 6P/d'Arrest is currently in the constellation of Hercules. The current Right Ascension of Comet 6P/d'Arrest is 16h 51m 05s and the Declination is +14° 08’ 18” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 6P/d'Arrest is 17.42 (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 South-South-West direction at an altitude of 52° 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 164,742,609 kilometers, equivalent to 1.101236 Astronomical Units. Light takes 9 minutes and 9.5222 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 0.317279 Astronomical Units, or 47,464,320 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 17.42.
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 26 June 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457200.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.61142210 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 19.48169703° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.36145410 AU 203,670,635 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.64591347 AU 844,616,634 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.50368378 AU 524,143,635 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5600 years 2,395.4427 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2015-Mar-02 10:00:34 2,457,083.9171 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Sep-21 20:38 2,459,479.3597 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 178.11497977248° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 138.93370215033° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 17.52071058271° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15028537°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 01 | 16h 52m 18s | +12° 37’ 55” | 17.66 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 02 | 16h 52m 14s | +12° 50’ 58” | 17.62 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 03 | 16h 52m 06s | +13° 03’ 57” | 17.59 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 04 | 16h 51m 59s | +13° 16’ 50” | 17.56 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 05 | 16h 51m 48s | +13° 29’ 36” | 17.52 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 06 | 16h 51m 37s | +13° 42’ 15” | 17.49 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 07 | 16h 51m 23s | +13° 54’ 47” | 17.46 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 08 | 16h 51m 06s | +14° 07’ 09” | 17.42 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 09 | 16h 50m 49s | +14° 19’ 22” | 17.39 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 10 | 16h 50m 30s | +14° 31’ 23” | 17.36 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 11 | 16h 50m 08s | +14° 43’ 14” | 17.33 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 12 | 16h 49m 45s | +14° 54’ 51” | 17.29 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 13 | 16h 49m 22s | +15° 06’ 15” | 17.26 | Hercules |
| 2021 May 14 | 16h 48m 56s | +15° 17’ 25” | 17.23 | Hercules |