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Comet 88P/Howell

Above the horizon.  Rise: 18:52 | Tran: 1:54 | Set: 8:51
Alt: 39.37°   Az: 231.86°   Direction: South-West

Comet 88P/Howell is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 389,391,912.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 11h 12m 03s and the Declination is +11° 28’ 27” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 88P/Howell is 19.24 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 88P/Howell in Leo on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 88P/Howell in Leo on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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.

88P/Howell
RA: 11h 10m 44s
Dec: +11° 36’ 39”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 88P/Howell. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

11h 12m 03s
+11° 28’ 27”
02h 33m 23s
13h 45m 26s

J2000

11h 10m 44s
+11° 36’ 39”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.24

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 88P/Howell from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.5°
Max altitude: 50.0°
Azimuth: 281.5°
  • 88P/Howell is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-West direction at an altitude of 39.37° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 88P/Howell 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 88P/Howell from Earth is currently 389,391,912.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.6029241605 Astronomical Units. Light takes 21m 38.872s to travel from Comet 88P/Howell and arrive to us.

389,391,912.0
2.6029241605
21m 38.872s

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 88P/Howell 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 88P/Howell 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 88P/Howell to Earth happens on Tue Jun 3 2042 at a distance of 0.765011 Astronomical Units, or 114,443,960 kilometers:

Tue Jun 3 2042
114,443,960
0.765011

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 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 88P/Howell as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 88P/Howell at epoch 04 June 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458274.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.56379173
Orbit inclination i 4.38385956°
Perihelion distance q 1.35519378 AU
202,734,104 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.85832340 AU
726,794,837 km
Semi-major axis a 3.10675859 AU
464,764,470 km
Orbital period period 5.4761 years
2,000.1367 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-Sep-26 19:34:10
2,459,119.3154 JD
Next perihelion transit 2026-Mar-19 22:51
2,461,119.4521 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 235.85288188653°
Longitude of the ascending node node 56.701921165886°
Mean anomaly M 207.94362350387°
Mean motion n 0.17998769°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet 88P/Howell
View Comet 88P/Howell in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 02 11h 16m 21s +10° 53’ 47” 19.35 Leo
2025 Feb 03 11h 15m 48s +10° 58’ 22” 19.33 Leo
2025 Feb 04 11h 15m 15s +11° 03’ 01” 19.32 Leo
2025 Feb 05 11h 14m 40s +11° 07’ 46” 19.30 Leo
2025 Feb 06 11h 14m 04s +11° 12’ 35” 19.29 Leo
2025 Feb 07 11h 13m 27s +11° 17’ 29” 19.27 Leo
2025 Feb 08 11h 12m 49s +11° 22’ 27” 19.26 Leo
2025 Feb 09 11h 12m 10s +11° 27’ 30” 19.24 Leo
2025 Feb 10 11h 11m 30s +11° 32’ 37” 19.23 Leo
2025 Feb 11 11h 10m 49s +11° 37’ 47” 19.21 Leo
2025 Feb 12 11h 10m 07s +11° 43’ 00” 19.20 Leo
2025 Feb 13 11h 09m 24s +11° 48’ 17” 19.18 Leo
2025 Feb 14 11h 08m 41s +11° 53’ 37” 19.17 Leo
2025 Feb 15 11h 07m 56s +11° 58’ 59” 19.16 Leo

Additional Resources