Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is 07h 07m 08s and the Declination is +30° 01’ 34” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is 25.90 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 [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]:

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Additional information about Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3?)
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 from Earth is currently 689,300,591 kilometers, equivalent to 4.607690 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 19.2593 seconds to travel from Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest approach of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 to Earth happens on Tue May 5 2093 at a distance of 0.092686 Astronomical Units, or 13,865,682 kilometers:

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

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is 25.90.

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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 rise and set times

Today's Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2021 Apr 30	07h 01m 32s	+30° 16’ 45”	25.91	Gemini
2021 May 01	07h 02m 12s	+30° 14’ 53”	25.91	Gemini
2021 May 02	07h 02m 53s	+30° 13’ 00”	25.91	Gemini
2021 May 03	07h 03m 33s	+30° 11’ 08”	25.91	Gemini
2021 May 04	07h 04m 15s	+30° 09’ 14”	25.91	Gemini
2021 May 05	07h 04m 59s	+30° 07’ 18”	25.90	Gemini
2021 May 06	07h 05m 41s	+30° 05’ 22”	25.90	Gemini
2021 May 07	07h 06m 25s	+30° 03’ 27”	25.90	Gemini
2021 May 08	07h 07m 10s	+30° 01’ 29”	25.90	Gemini
2021 May 09	07h 07m 55s	+29° 59’ 31”	25.89	Gemini
2021 May 10	07h 08m 41s	+29° 57’ 33”	25.89	Gemini
2021 May 11	07h 09m 28s	+29° 55’ 32”	25.89	Gemini
2021 May 12	07h 10m 14s	+29° 53’ 31”	25.89	Gemini
2021 May 13	07h 11m 03s	+29° 51’ 29”	25.88	Gemini