Comet 71P/Clark

Comet 71P/Clark is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 71P/Clark is 01h 04m 42s and the Declination is -05° 25’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 71P/Clark is 18.21 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 15.5 (COBS).

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 71P/Clark from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 71P/Clark?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 71P/Clark from Earth?)
• When does Comet 71P/Clark rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 71P/Clark?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 71P/Clark orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 71P/Clark with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 71P/Clark for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 71P/Clark in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 71P/Clark with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 71P/Clark is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 71P/Clark?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 71P/Clark in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 71P/Clark Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 71P/Clark from Earth is currently 248,127,897 kilometers, equivalent to 1.658633 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 47.6656 seconds to travel from Comet 71P/Clark and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 71P/Clark 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 71P/Clark from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 71P/Clark to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 71P/Clark to Earth happens on Sun Jun 11 2017 at a distance of 0.589846 Astronomical Units, or 88,239,685 kilometers:

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

Comet 71P/Clark Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 71P/Clark, 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.

Visualization of Comet 71P/Clark Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 71P/Clark with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 71P/Clark 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 71P/Clark 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 71P/Clark computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 71P/Clark in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 24	01h 12m 11s	-04° 57’ 07”	18.08	Cetus
2023 Sep 25	01h 11m 12s	-05° 01’ 13”	18.10	Cetus
2023 Sep 26	01h 10m 14s	-05° 05’ 12”	18.11	Cetus
2023 Sep 27	01h 09m 14s	-05° 09’ 07”	18.13	Cetus
2023 Sep 28	01h 08m 14s	-05° 12’ 57”	18.15	Cetus
2023 Sep 29	01h 07m 14s	-05° 16’ 41”	18.16	Cetus
2023 Sep 30	01h 06m 14s	-05° 20’ 21”	18.18	Cetus
2023 Oct 01	01h 05m 12s	-05° 23’ 53”	18.20	Cetus
2023 Oct 02	01h 04m 13s	-05° 27’ 20”	18.22	Cetus
2023 Oct 03	01h 03m 11s	-05° 30’ 39”	18.24	Cetus
2023 Oct 04	01h 02m 11s	-05° 33’ 52”	18.25	Cetus
2023 Oct 05	01h 01m 10s	-05° 36’ 59”	18.27	Cetus
2023 Oct 06	01h 00m 10s	-05° 39’ 56”	18.29	Cetus
2023 Oct 07	00h 59m 09s	-05° 42’ 47”	18.31	Cetus