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public  Calle Blancos, Costa Rica Calle Blancos, Costa Rica  ⓘ
TimezoneAmerica/Costa_Rica
Sunrise: 5:22 
Transit: 11:41 
Sunset: 18:00
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Comets » 

Comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa

Below the horizon.  Rise: 9:34 | Tran: 15:39 | Set: 21:48
Alt: -6.13°   Az: 281.64°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 999,629,679.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 11h 19m 33s and the Declination is +10° 19’ 18” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 36.70.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa in the constellation of Leo on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa in the constellation of Leo on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

72P/Denning-Fujikawa
RA: 11h 18m 13s
Dec: +10° 27’ 41”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

11h 19m 33s
+10° 19’ 18”
06h 32m 42s
17h 52m 15s

J2000

11h 18m 13s
+10° 27’ 41”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
36.70

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa from Calle Blancos, Costa Rica (all times relative to the local timezone America/Costa_Rica):

Azimuth: 79.7°
Max altitude: 89.7°
Azimuth: 280.3°

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 72P/Denning-Fujikawa from Earth is currently 999,629,679.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.6821116793 Astronomical Units. Light takes 55m 34.406s to travel from comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa and arrive to us.

999,629,679.0
6.6821116793
55m 34.406s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 72P/Denning-Fujikawa from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa to Earth will happen on Friday 22 August 2059 at a distance of 0.170790 Astronomical Units, or 25,549,815 kilometers:

Friday 22 August 2059
25,549,815
0.170790

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa at epoch September, 20 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457286.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.82045974
Orbit inclination i 9.23291453°
Perihelion distance q 0.78052891 AU
116,765,464 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.91422175 AU
1,183,950,725 km
Semi-major axis a 4.34737533 AU
650,358,094 km
Orbital period period 9.0646 years
3,310.8472 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp July 12, 2014
2,456,850.7805 JD
Next perihelion transit August 5, 2023
2,460,161.6277 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 338.47296453447°
Longitude of the ascending node node 35.435634609379°
Mean anomaly M 47.377306623804°
Mean motion n 0.10873350°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa 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
Jul 02 2025 11h 16m 59s +10° 43’ 12” 36.62 Leo
Jul 03 2025 11h 17m 19s +10° 39’ 58” 36.63 Leo
Jul 04 2025 11h 17m 40s +10° 36’ 41” 36.64 Leo
Jul 05 2025 11h 18m 01s +10° 33’ 24” 36.65 Leo
Jul 06 2025 11h 18m 23s +10° 30’ 03” 36.66 Leo
Jul 07 2025 11h 18m 44s +10° 26’ 42” 36.67 Leo
Jul 08 2025 11h 19m 07s +10° 23’ 19” 36.69 Leo
Jul 09 2025 11h 19m 29s +10° 19’ 54” 36.70 Leo
Jul 10 2025 11h 19m 52s +10° 16’ 29” 36.71 Leo
Jul 11 2025 11h 20m 16s +10° 13’ 01” 36.72 Leo
Jul 12 2025 11h 20m 39s +10° 09’ 32” 36.73 Leo
Jul 13 2025 11h 21m 03s +10° 06’ 01” 36.74 Leo
Jul 14 2025 11h 21m 27s +10° 02’ 29” 36.75 Leo
Jul 15 2025 11h 21m 52s +09° 58’ 56” 36.76 Leo

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