Comet 96P/Machholz 1
Comet 96P/Machholz 1 is currently in the constellation of Aquila. The current Right Ascension of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 is 20h 17m 57s and the Declination is -06° 46’ 36” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 is 8.81 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 96P/Machholz 1 [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]:
- 96P/Machholz 1 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 15° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 96P/Machholz 1 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.
- See also 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 96P/Machholz 1 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 96P/Machholz 1 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 96P/Machholz 1 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 96P/Machholz 1?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 96P/Machholz 1 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 96P/Machholz 1 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 from Earth is currently 159,006,681 kilometers, equivalent to 1.062894 Astronomical Units. Light takes 8 minutes and 50.3892 seconds to travel from Comet 96P/Machholz 1 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 to Earth happens on Fri Jun 16 2028 at a distance of 0.319896 Astronomical Units, or 47,855,756 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 96P/Machholz 1 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 is 8.81.
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 96P/Machholz 1, 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 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 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 |
Visualization of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 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 96P/Machholz 1 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 96P/Machholz 1 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 96P/Machholz 1 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 96P/Machholz 1 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 31 | 21h 05m 18s | -15° 19’ 45” | 4.00 | Capricornus |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 20h 54m 39s | -12° 25’ 39” | 4.00 | Aquarius |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 20h 44m 30s | -10° 19’ 56” | 5.22 | Aquarius |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 20h 36m 18s | -08° 57’ 33” | 6.08 | Capricornus |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 20h 30m 00s | -08° 04’ 12” | 6.86 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 05 | 20h 25m 10s | -07° 29’ 08” | 7.55 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 06 | 20h 21m 29s | -07° 05’ 47” | 8.14 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 07 | 20h 18m 38s | -06° 50’ 08” | 8.66 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 08 | 20h 16m 26s | -06° 39’ 42” | 9.13 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 09 | 20h 14m 43s | -06° 32’ 56” | 9.54 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 10 | 20h 13m 23s | -06° 28’ 45” | 9.91 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 11 | 20h 12m 23s | -06° 26’ 27” | 10.25 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 12 | 20h 11m 36s | -06° 25’ 32” | 10.56 | Aquila |
| 2023 Feb 13 | 20h 11m 03s | -06° 25’ 39” | 10.84 | Aquila |