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public  Zhangzhuang, China Zhangzhuang, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:33 
Transit: 12:27 
Sunset: 19:20
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Comets » 

Comet 94P/Russell

Below the horizon.  Rise: 21:47 | Tran: 2:57 | Set: 8:11
Alt: -48.11°   Az: 92.91°   Direction: East

Comet 94P/Russell is in the constellation of Capricornus, at a distance of 522,789,639.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 21h 26m 58s and the Declination is -21° 58’ 10” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 94P/Russell, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 21.88).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 94P/Russell in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 94P/Russell in the constellation of Capricornus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 94P/Russell in the constellation of Capricornus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 94P/Russell 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.

94P/Russell
RA: 21h 25m 31s
Dec: -22° 04’ 50”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 94P/Russell. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

21h 26m 58s
-21° 58’ 10”
15h 03m 55s
12h 30m 53s

J2000

21h 25m 31s
-22° 04’ 50”

Additional Information

Capricornus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.88

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 94P/Russell from Zhangzhuang, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 112.0°
Max altitude: 40.5°
Azimuth: 248.1°

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 94P/Russell from Earth is currently 522,789,639.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.4946328885 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29m 3.839s to travel from comet 94P/Russell and arrive to us.

522,789,639.0
3.4946328885
29m 3.839s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 94P/Russell 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.

Chart of the distance of comet 94P/Russell from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
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 94P/Russell 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, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 94P/Russell to Earth happened on Tuesday 23 February 2010 at a distance of 1.275150 Astronomical Units, or 190,759,767 kilometers:

Tuesday 23 February 2010
190,759,767
1.275150

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 94P/Russell, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 94P/Russell as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 94P/Russell at epoch October, 26 2013 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456592.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.36387421
Orbit inclination i 6.18391849°
Perihelion distance q 2.23406307 AU
334,211,079 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.78990332 AU
716,559,340 km
Semi-major axis a 3.51198320 AU
525,385,209 km
Orbital period period 6.5817 years
2,403.9591 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp October 28, 2016
2,457,689.5187 JD
Next perihelion transit May 28, 2023
2,460,093.4778 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 92.663101402853°
Longitude of the ascending node node 70.90800527207°
Mean anomaly M 195.71820172493°
Mean motion n 0.14975296°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 94P/Russell 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 94P/Russell 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
Jun 27 2025 21h 30m 02s -21° 32’ 56” 21.90 Capricornus
Jun 28 2025 21h 29m 40s -21° 36’ 12” 21.90 Capricornus
Jun 29 2025 21h 29m 17s -21° 39’ 30” 21.89 Capricornus
Jun 30 2025 21h 28m 53s -21° 42’ 52” 21.89 Capricornus
Jul 01 2025 21h 28m 28s -21° 46’ 16” 21.89 Capricornus
Jul 02 2025 21h 28m 04s -21° 49’ 42” 21.88 Capricornus
Jul 03 2025 21h 27m 37s -21° 53’ 11” 21.88 Capricornus
Jul 04 2025 21h 27m 10s -21° 56’ 41” 21.88 Capricornus
Jul 05 2025 21h 26m 41s -22° 00’ 14” 21.88 Capricornus
Jul 06 2025 21h 26m 12s -22° 03’ 49” 21.88 Capricornus
Jul 07 2025 21h 25m 43s -22° 07’ 25” 21.87 Capricornus
Jul 08 2025 21h 25m 12s -22° 11’ 03” 21.87 Capricornus
Jul 09 2025 21h 24m 41s -22° 14’ 42” 21.87 Capricornus
Jul 10 2025 21h 24m 09s -22° 18’ 23” 21.87 Capricornus

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