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Comets » 

Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Below the horizon.  Rise: 10:18 | Tran: 18:20 | Set: 2:26
Alt: -15.96°   Az: 5.37°   Direction: North

Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 699,029,166.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 53m 03s and the Declination is +22° 23’ 53” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is 19.80 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in Taurus on February, 12 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in Taurus on February, 12 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

74P/Smirnova-Chernykh
RA: 03h 51m 34s
Dec: +22° 19’ 27”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

03h 53m 03s
+22° 23’ 53”
12h 22m 21s
16h 15m 24s

J2000

03h 51m 34s
+22° 19’ 27”

Additional Information

Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.80

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

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 67.6°
Max altitude: 60.9°
Azimuth: 292.4°
  • 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Earth is currently 699,029,166.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.6727213611 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38m 51.710s to travel from Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh and arrive to us.

699,029,166.0
4.6727213611
38m 51.710s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh to Earth happens on Tue Jul 12 2089 at a distance of 2.156889 Astronomical Units, or 322,665,956 kilometers:

Tue Jul 12 2089
322,665,956
2.156889

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh at epoch 18 December 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456280.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.14779485
Orbit inclination i 6.65102952°
Perihelion distance q 3.54968359 AU
531,025,108 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.78090114 AU
715,212,632 km
Semi-major axis a 4.16529237 AU
623,118,870 km
Orbital period period 8.5011 years
3,105.0362 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2009-Jul-26 18:00:43
2,455,039.2505 JD
Next perihelion transit 2018-Jan-25 18:52
2,458,144.2867 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 86.5671751755°
Longitude of the ascending node node 77.084111420537°
Mean anomaly M 143.91130964299°
Mean motion n 0.11594068°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh
View Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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
2025 Feb 05 03h 51m 27s +22° 17’ 45” 19.75 Taurus
2025 Feb 06 03h 51m 37s +22° 18’ 27” 19.76 Taurus
2025 Feb 07 03h 51m 48s +22° 19’ 14” 19.77 Taurus
2025 Feb 08 03h 52m 01s +22° 20’ 02” 19.77 Taurus
2025 Feb 09 03h 52m 14s +22° 20’ 52” 19.78 Taurus
2025 Feb 10 03h 52m 28s +22° 21’ 45” 19.79 Taurus
2025 Feb 11 03h 52m 42s +22° 22’ 39” 19.79 Taurus
2025 Feb 12 03h 52m 58s +22° 23’ 37” 19.80 Taurus
2025 Feb 13 03h 53m 14s +22° 24’ 36” 19.81 Taurus
2025 Feb 14 03h 53m 31s +22° 25’ 37” 19.81 Taurus
2025 Feb 15 03h 53m 50s +22° 26’ 41” 19.82 Taurus
2025 Feb 16 03h 54m 09s +22° 27’ 47” 19.83 Taurus
2025 Feb 17 03h 54m 29s +22° 28’ 54” 19.84 Taurus
2025 Feb 18 03h 54m 49s +22° 30’ 05” 19.84 Taurus

Additional Resources