Comet 78P/Gehrels

Comet 78P/Gehrels is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 78P/Gehrels is 15h 29m 21s and the Declination is -15° 57’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 78P/Gehrels is 22.36 (JPL).

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 78P/Gehrels from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 78P/Gehrels?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 78P/Gehrels from Earth?)
• When does Comet 78P/Gehrels rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 78P/Gehrels?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 78P/Gehrels orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 78P/Gehrels with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 78P/Gehrels for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 78P/Gehrels in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 78P/Gehrels with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 78P/Gehrels is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet 78P/Gehrels?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 78P/Gehrels in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 78P/Gehrels Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 78P/Gehrels from Earth is currently 879,732,597 kilometers, equivalent to 5.880649 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 54.4721 seconds to travel from Comet 78P/Gehrels and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 78P/Gehrels 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 78P/Gehrels from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 78P/Gehrels to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 78P/Gehrels to Earth happens on Thu Dec 31 2026 at a distance of 1.558245 Astronomical Units, or 233,110,168 kilometers:

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

Comet 78P/Gehrels Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 78P/Gehrels, 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.

Visualization of Comet 78P/Gehrels Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 78P/Gehrels with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 78P/Gehrels and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Comet 78P/Gehrels 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 78P/Gehrels computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 78P/Gehrels in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 25	15h 24m 23s	-15° 38’ 45”	22.35	Libra
2023 Sep 26	15h 25m 01s	-15° 41’ 13”	22.35	Libra
2023 Sep 27	15h 25m 41s	-15° 43’ 42”	22.35	Libra
2023 Sep 28	15h 26m 20s	-15° 46’ 13”	22.35	Libra
2023 Sep 29	15h 26m 59s	-15° 48’ 42”	22.36	Libra
2023 Sep 30	15h 27m 41s	-15° 51’ 14”	22.36	Libra
2023 Oct 01	15h 28m 22s	-15° 53’ 44”	22.36	Libra
2023 Oct 02	15h 29m 03s	-15° 56’ 17”	22.36	Libra
2023 Oct 03	15h 29m 44s	-15° 58’ 50”	22.36	Libra
2023 Oct 04	15h 30m 25s	-16° 01’ 22”	22.37	Libra
2023 Oct 05	15h 31m 09s	-16° 03’ 55”	22.37	Libra
2023 Oct 06	15h 31m 50s	-16° 06’ 29”	22.37	Libra
2023 Oct 07	15h 32m 35s	-16° 09’ 02”	22.37	Libra
2023 Oct 08	15h 33m 17s	-16° 11’ 35”	22.37	Libra