Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is a short-period comet with an orbital period of 6.3 years. It was first discovered by Jean-Louis Pons on 12 June 1819 and rediscovered later by Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke on 9 March 1858. The comet has a perihelion distance of about 1.2 astronomical units and an aphelion distance of about 5.6 astronomical units.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
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 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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.
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 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke to Earth happened on Monday 27 June 1927 at a distance of 0.039404 Astronomical Units, or 5,894,775 kilometers:
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 7P/Pons-Winnecke, 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.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke at epoch April, 24 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457137.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.63757124 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.33463826° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.23919869 AU 185,381,486 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.59910354 AU 837,613,969 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.41915111 AU 511,497,727 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.3225 years 2,309.2761 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | January 30, 2015 2,457,053.0275 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | May 27, 2021 2,459,362.3036 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 172.50553360981° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 93.415610189417° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 13.168673787644° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15589301°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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 08 2025 | 06h 56m 35s | +25° 44’ 13” | 23.18 | Gemini |
| Jul 09 2025 | 06h 57m 27s | +25° 44’ 03” | 23.18 | Gemini |
| Jul 10 2025 | 06h 58m 20s | +25° 43’ 53” | 23.18 | Gemini |
| Jul 11 2025 | 06h 59m 12s | +25° 43’ 42” | 23.17 | Gemini |
| Jul 12 2025 | 07h 00m 05s | +25° 43’ 30” | 23.17 | Gemini |
| Jul 13 2025 | 07h 00m 57s | +25° 43’ 18” | 23.17 | Gemini |
| Jul 14 2025 | 07h 01m 49s | +25° 43’ 06” | 23.17 | Gemini |
| Jul 15 2025 | 07h 02m 42s | +25° 42’ 52” | 23.17 | Gemini |
| Jul 16 2025 | 07h 03m 34s | +25° 42’ 38” | 23.16 | Gemini |
| Jul 17 2025 | 07h 04m 26s | +25° 42’ 24” | 23.16 | Gemini |
| Jul 18 2025 | 07h 05m 19s | +25° 42’ 09” | 23.16 | Gemini |
| Jul 19 2025 | 07h 06m 11s | +25° 41’ 53” | 23.15 | Gemini |
| Jul 20 2025 | 07h 07m 03s | +25° 41’ 37” | 23.15 | Gemini |
| Jul 21 2025 | 07h 07m 55s | +25° 41’ 21” | 23.15 | Gemini |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke?: Key information on where to find comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke in the sky.
- Distance of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Earth: Find out how far comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke with respect to the major Solar System objects.