Comet 88P/Howell
Comet 88P/Howell is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of Comet 88P/Howell is 05h 17m 57s and the Declination is +24° 51’ 49” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 88P/Howell is 21.35 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 88P/Howell [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 88P/Howell is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West-North-West direction at an altitude of 14° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 88P/Howell is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 88P/Howell rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet 88P/Howell available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 88P/Howell Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 88P/Howell finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 88P/Howell is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 88P/Howell?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 88P/Howell in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 88P/Howell Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 88P/Howell from Earth is currently 774,676,567 kilometers, equivalent to 5.178393 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43 minutes and 4.0429 seconds to travel from Comet 88P/Howell and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 88P/Howell 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 88P/Howell from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 88P/Howell to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 88P/Howell to Earth happens on Mon Jun 2 2042 at a distance of 0.766150 Astronomical Units, or 114,614,416 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 88P/Howell brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 88P/Howell is 21.35.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 88P/Howell, 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.
Comet 88P/Howell rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 88P/Howell rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 88P/Howell touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 88P/Howell Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 88P/Howell at epoch 26 March 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457474.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.56309441 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 4.38310084° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.35819687 AU 203,183,361 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.85915037 AU 726,918,550 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.10867362 AU 465,050,956 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.4811 years 2,001.9864 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2015-Apr-06 05:18:10 2,457,118.7210 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2020-Sep-28 04:58 2,459,120.7073 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 235.89373091172° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 56.697598516849° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 63.976687455778° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.17982140°/day |
Visualization of Comet 88P/Howell Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 88P/Howell with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 88P/Howell 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!
View Comet 88P/Howell in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 88P/Howell 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 88P/Howell computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 88P/Howell in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 10 | 05h 09m 48s | +24° 41’ 59” | 21.29 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 11 | 05h 10m 50s | +24° 43’ 19” | 21.30 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 12 | 05h 11m 53s | +24° 44’ 38” | 21.31 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 13 | 05h 12m 55s | +24° 45’ 55” | 21.32 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 14 | 05h 13m 58s | +24° 47’ 11” | 21.32 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 15 | 05h 15m 00s | +24° 48’ 24” | 21.33 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 16 | 05h 16m 03s | +24° 49’ 39” | 21.34 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 17 | 05h 17m 04s | +24° 50’ 51” | 21.34 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 18 | 05h 18m 07s | +24° 52’ 01” | 21.35 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 19 | 05h 19m 10s | +24° 53’ 12” | 21.36 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 20 | 05h 20m 13s | +24° 54’ 20” | 21.36 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 21 | 05h 21m 16s | +24° 55’ 27” | 21.37 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 22 | 05h 22m 20s | +24° 56’ 34” | 21.38 | Taurus |
| 2022 May 23 | 05h 23m 23s | +24° 57’ 38” | 21.38 | Taurus |