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Comet 96P/Machholz

Below the horizon.  Rise: 2:37 | Tran: 4:38 | Set: 6:40
Alt: -5.83°   Az: 218.31°   Direction: South-West

Comet 96P/Machholz is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 776,543,250.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 19h 31m 02s and the Declination is -34° 27’ 01” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet 96P/Machholz is 24.19 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet 96P/Machholz in Sagittarius on May, 20 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet 96P/Machholz in Sagittarius on May, 20 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 96P/Machholz is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

96P/Machholz
RA: 19h 29m 23s
Dec: -34° 30’ 16”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 96P/Machholz. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet 96P/Machholz?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 96P/Machholz in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

19h 31m 02s
-34° 27’ 01”
03h 13m 35s
22h 44m 38s

J2000

19h 29m 23s
-34° 30’ 16”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.19

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 96P/Machholz from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 124.4°
Max altitude: 4.1°
Azimuth: 235.6°
  • 96P/Machholz is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 96P/Machholz 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 96P/Machholz from Earth is currently 776,543,250.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.1908710088 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43m 10.269s to travel from Comet 96P/Machholz and arrive to us.

776,543,250.0
5.1908710088
43m 10.269s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 96P/Machholz 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 96P/Machholz 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 96P/Machholz from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 96P/Machholz to Earth happens on Fri Jun 16 2028 at a distance of 0.319896 Astronomical Units, or 47,855,756 kilometers:

Fri Jun 16 2028
47,855,756
0.319896

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 96P/Machholz, 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 96P/Machholz as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 96P/Machholz at epoch 16 February 2009 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454879.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.95913614
Orbit inclination i 58.33965101°
Perihelion distance q 0.12391231 AU
18,537,017 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.94072730 AU
888,720,156 km
Semi-major axis a 3.03231980 AU
453,628,586 km
Orbital period period 5.2804 years
1,928.6833 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2007-Apr-05 10:28:58
2,454,195.9368 JD
Next perihelion transit 2012-Jul-16 02:52
2,456,124.6201 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 14.766151892952°
Longitude of the ascending node node 94.310553881627°
Mean anomaly M 127.59106252743°
Mean motion n 0.18665584°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet 96P/Machholz
View Comet 96P/Machholz in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 96P/Machholz 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 May 13 19h 34m 21s -34° 00’ 40” 24.22 Sagittarius
2025 May 14 19h 33m 56s -34° 04’ 15” 24.22 Sagittarius
2025 May 15 19h 33m 31s -34° 07’ 50” 24.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 16 19h 33m 05s -34° 11’ 27” 24.21 Sagittarius
2025 May 17 19h 32m 38s -34° 15’ 04” 24.20 Sagittarius
2025 May 18 19h 32m 10s -34° 18’ 42” 24.20 Sagittarius
2025 May 19 19h 31m 41s -34° 22’ 20” 24.19 Sagittarius
2025 May 20 19h 31m 11s -34° 25’ 59” 24.19 Sagittarius
2025 May 21 19h 30m 41s -34° 29’ 38” 24.19 Sagittarius
2025 May 22 19h 30m 09s -34° 33’ 18” 24.18 Sagittarius
2025 May 23 19h 29m 37s -34° 36’ 57” 24.18 Sagittarius
2025 May 24 19h 29m 03s -34° 40’ 36” 24.17 Sagittarius
2025 May 25 19h 28m 29s -34° 44’ 15” 24.17 Sagittarius
2025 May 26 19h 27m 54s -34° 47’ 54” 24.17 Sagittarius

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