Comet 8P/Tuttle
Comet 8P/Tuttle Position
Comet 8P/Tuttle is currently in the constellation of Cygnus. The current Right Ascension is 20h 22m 49s and the Declination is +29° 32’ 57”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 8P/Tuttle is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 8P/Tuttle is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 8P/Tuttle?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 8P/Tuttle in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 8P/Tuttle Distance
The distance of Comet 8P/Tuttle from Earth is currently 931,022,554 kilometers, equivalent to 6.223501 Astronomical Units. Light takes 51 minutes and 45.5570 seconds to travel from Comet 8P/Tuttle and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 8P/Tuttle 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 8P/Tuttle from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 8P/Tuttle to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 8P/Tuttle to Earth happens on Mon Dec 28 2048 at a distance of 0.17536714 Astronomical Units, or 26,234,550 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 8P/Tuttle brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 8P/Tuttle is 31.21.
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 behvior 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 8P/Tuttle, 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 8P/Tuttle 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 8P/Tuttle 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 8P/Tuttle touches the horizon, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 8P/Tuttle Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 8P/Tuttle at epoch 30 September 2007 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454374.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.81979975 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 54.98318484° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.02711659 AU 153,654,455 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
10.37260755 AU 1,551,720,007 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
5.69986207 AU 852,687,231 km |
| Orbital period | period |
13.6100 years 4,970.4413 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2008-Jan-27 00:36:47 2,454,492.5256 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Sep-05 11:12 2,459,462.9668 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 207.50924597274° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 270.34165200508° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 351.45162452903° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.07242818°/day |
Visualization of Comet 8P/Tuttle Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 8P/Tuttle with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 8P/Tuttle 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 8P/Tuttle in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 8P/Tuttle 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 8P/Tuttle computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 8P/Tuttle in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Jun 18 | 20h 26m 20s | +28° 59’ 04” | 31.30 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 19 | 20h 25m 53s | +29° 03’ 54” | 31.29 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 20 | 20h 25m 27s | +29° 08’ 36” | 31.28 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 21 | 20h 24m 59s | +29° 13’ 14” | 31.26 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 22 | 20h 24m 32s | +29° 17’ 45” | 31.25 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 23 | 20h 24m 02s | +29° 22’ 12” | 31.24 | Vulpecula |
| 2019 Jun 24 | 20h 23m 34s | +29° 26’ 30” | 31.23 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 25 | 20h 23m 04s | +29° 30’ 44” | 31.22 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 26 | 20h 22m 35s | +29° 34’ 51” | 31.21 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 27 | 20h 22m 04s | +29° 38’ 53” | 31.20 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 28 | 20h 21m 33s | +29° 42’ 47” | 31.19 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 29 | 20h 21m 02s | +29° 46’ 36” | 31.18 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jun 30 | 20h 20m 30s | +29° 50’ 17” | 31.17 | Cygnus |
| 2019 Jul 01 | 20h 19m 58s | +29° 53’ 51” | 31.16 | Cygnus |