Comet 9P/Tempel 1
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 is 14h 35m 40s and the Declination is -09° 08’ 05” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 is 16.71 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 9P/Tempel 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]:
- 9P/Tempel 1 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 25° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 9P/Tempel 1 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 1 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 1 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 9P/Tempel 1?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 from Earth is currently 361,366,349 kilometers, equivalent to 2.415585 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20 minutes and 5.3884 seconds to travel from Comet 9P/Tempel 1 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 1 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 to Earth happens on Sat Jun 16 2040 at a distance of 0.946365 Astronomical Units, or 141,574,179 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 is 16.71.
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 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 1 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 at epoch 30 November 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457723.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.50958904 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.47399502° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.54257103 AU 230,765,342 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.74836112 AU 710,344,714 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.14546607 AU 470,555,028 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.5787 years 2,037.6329 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2016-Aug-02 14:10:33 2,457,603.0907 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2022-Mar-02 05:21 2,459,640.7235 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 179.2123352084° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 68.748880019377° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 21.273390923298° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.17667560°/day |
Visualization of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 9P/Tempel 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 9P/Tempel 1 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Dec 02 | 14h 16m 27s | -07° 16’ 41” | 16.86 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 03 | 14h 19m 00s | -07° 31’ 44” | 16.84 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 04 | 14h 21m 33s | -07° 46’ 44” | 16.82 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 05 | 14h 24m 06s | -08° 01’ 41” | 16.80 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 06 | 14h 26m 40s | -08° 16’ 37” | 16.78 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 07 | 14h 29m 16s | -08° 31’ 31” | 16.76 | Virgo |
| 2021 Dec 08 | 14h 31m 51s | -08° 46’ 22” | 16.74 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 09 | 14h 34m 27s | -09° 01’ 09” | 16.72 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 10 | 14h 37m 05s | -09° 15’ 55” | 16.70 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 11 | 14h 39m 42s | -09° 30’ 38” | 16.68 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 12 | 14h 42m 20s | -09° 45’ 16” | 16.66 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 13 | 14h 45m 00s | -09° 59’ 53” | 16.64 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 14 | 14h 47m 39s | -10° 14’ 25” | 16.62 | Libra |
| 2021 Dec 15 | 14h 50m 20s | -10° 28’ 54” | 16.60 | Libra |