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public  Kālia, Bangladesh Kālia, Bangladesh  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Dhaka
Sunrise: 5:21 
Transit: 12:05 
Sunset: 18:50
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Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann

Above the horizon.  Rise: 4:42 | Tran: 11:33 | Set: 18:20
Alt: 79.08°   Az: 67.47°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 908,211,881.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 17m 31s and the Declination is +26° 48’ 54” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 30.26).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann in the constellation of Gemini 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 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.

73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann
RA: 06h 15m 55s
Dec: +26° 49’ 31”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 17m 31s
+26° 48’ 54”
23h 14m 47s
05h 32m 18s

J2000

06h 15m 55s
+26° 49’ 31”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
30.26

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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann from Kālia, Bangladesh (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Dhaka):

Azimuth: 63.2°
Max altitude: 86.2°
Azimuth: 296.8°

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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann from Earth is currently 908,211,881.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.0710214440 Astronomical Units. Light takes 50m 29.469s to travel from comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann and arrive to us.

908,211,881.0
6.0710214440
50m 29.469s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann to Earth will happen on Wednesday 5 August 2048 at a distance of 0.115627 Astronomical Units, or 17,297,528 kilometers:

Wednesday 5 August 2048
17,297,528
0.115627

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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 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 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann as a function of time

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 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
Jun 26 2025 06h 11m 08s +26° 48’ 42” 30.27 Gemini
Jun 27 2025 06h 12m 01s +26° 48’ 46” 30.27 Gemini
Jun 28 2025 06h 12m 54s +26° 48’ 49” 30.27 Gemini
Jun 29 2025 06h 13m 48s +26° 48’ 51” 30.27 Gemini
Jun 30 2025 06h 14m 41s +26° 48’ 53” 30.27 Gemini
Jul 01 2025 06h 15m 34s +26° 48’ 54” 30.27 Gemini
Jul 02 2025 06h 16m 27s +26° 48’ 54” 30.27 Gemini
Jul 03 2025 06h 17m 20s +26° 48’ 54” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 04 2025 06h 18m 13s +26° 48’ 53” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 05 2025 06h 19m 05s +26° 48’ 51” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 06 2025 06h 19m 58s +26° 48’ 48” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 07 2025 06h 20m 51s +26° 48’ 45” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 08 2025 06h 21m 44s +26° 48’ 41” 30.26 Gemini
Jul 09 2025 06h 22m 36s +26° 48’ 37” 30.25 Gemini

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