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public  Odicon, Philippines Odicon, Philippines  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Manila
Sunrise: 5:28 
Transit: 11:53 
Sunset: 18:18
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Comets » 

Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Above the horizon.  Rise: 3:59 | Tran: 10:28 | Set: 16:53
Alt: 10.17°   Az: 294.78°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 868,128,195.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 01m 45s and the Declination is +26° 15’ 41” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 20.23.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in the constellation of Taurus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh in the constellation of Taurus 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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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.

74P/Smirnova-Chernykh
RA: 06h 00m 10s
Dec: +26° 15’ 43”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 01m 45s
+26° 15’ 41”
05h 40m 45s
11h 42m 31s

J2000

06h 00m 10s
+26° 15’ 43”

Additional Information

Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.23

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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Odicon, Philippines (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Manila):

Azimuth: 63.7°
Max altitude: 77.3°
Azimuth: 296.3°

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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh from Earth is currently 868,128,195.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.8030785528 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48m 15.764s to travel from comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh and arrive to us.

868,128,195.0
5.8030785528
48m 15.764s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh to Earth will happen on Tuesday 12 July 2089 at a distance of 2.156889 Astronomical Units, or 322,665,956 kilometers:

Tuesday 12 July 2089
322,665,956
2.156889

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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, 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 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh at epoch December, 18 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 July 26, 2009
2,455,039.2505 JD
Next perihelion transit January 25, 2018
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

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 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 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
Jul 05 2025 05h 54m 01s +26° 11’ 14” 20.25 Taurus
Jul 06 2025 05h 55m 04s +26° 11’ 55” 20.25 Taurus
Jul 07 2025 05h 56m 08s +26° 12’ 34” 20.24 Taurus
Jul 08 2025 05h 57m 11s +26° 13’ 11” 20.24 Taurus
Jul 09 2025 05h 58m 15s +26° 13’ 48” 20.24 Taurus
Jul 10 2025 05h 59m 18s +26° 14’ 23” 20.24 Taurus
Jul 11 2025 06h 00m 21s +26° 14’ 57” 20.24 Taurus
Jul 12 2025 06h 01m 24s +26° 15’ 30” 20.23 Taurus
Jul 13 2025 06h 02m 27s +26° 16’ 02” 20.23 Gemini
Jul 14 2025 06h 03m 30s +26° 16’ 32” 20.23 Gemini
Jul 15 2025 06h 04m 32s +26° 17’ 02” 20.23 Gemini
Jul 16 2025 06h 05m 35s +26° 17’ 30” 20.22 Gemini
Jul 17 2025 06h 06m 37s +26° 17’ 57” 20.22 Gemini
Jul 18 2025 06h 07m 39s +26° 18’ 23” 20.22 Gemini

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