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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)

Altitude: 36.0°   Azimuth: 103.6°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is currently in the constellation of Aries.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is 02h 02m 57s and the Declination is +19° 59’ 48” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is 22.57 (JPL).

02h 02m 57s
+19° 59’ 48”
Aries
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.57

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 70.0°
Max altitude: 58.5°
Azimuth: 290.0°
  • C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 36° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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.

Available Resources

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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.

Finder chart of C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on December,01 2023
Map showing Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
Map showing Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on December, 01 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
RA: 02h 02m 57s
Dec: +19° 59’ 48”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Earth is currently 1,000,934,082 kilometers, equivalent to 6.690831 Astronomical Units. Light takes 55 minutes and 38.7567 seconds to travel from Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) and arrive to us.

1,000,934,082
6.690831
55 minutes and 38.7567 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) to Earth happens on Mon Aug 30 2021 at a distance of 4.716139 Astronomical Units, or 705,524,329 kilometers:

Mon Aug 30 2021
705,524,329
4.716139

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo), 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) as a function of time

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) at epoch 07 July 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459038.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64417804
Orbit inclination i 6.55358988°
Perihelion distance q 5.70727373 AU
853,795,999 km
Aphelion distance Q 26.37210512 AU
3,945,210,780 km
Semi-major axis a 16.03968942 AU
2,399,503,389 km
Orbital period period 64.2395 years
23,463.4764 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-May-16 01:53:09
2,459,350.5786 JD
Next perihelion transit 2085-Aug-11 13:19
2,482,814.0550 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 2.6682622801302°
Longitude of the ascending node node 326.85924046635°
Mean anomaly M 355.21177990559°
Mean motion n 0.01534299°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
View Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 24 02h 04m 59s +20° 13’ 54” 22.54 Aries
2023 Nov 25 02h 04m 42s +20° 12’ 02” 22.54 Aries
2023 Nov 26 02h 04m 26s +20° 10’ 10” 22.55 Aries
2023 Nov 27 02h 04m 09s +20° 08’ 20” 22.55 Aries
2023 Nov 28 02h 03m 52s +20° 06’ 29” 22.56 Aries
2023 Nov 29 02h 03m 38s +20° 04’ 41” 22.56 Aries
2023 Nov 30 02h 03m 21s +20° 02’ 53” 22.56 Aries
2023 Dec 01 02h 03m 07s +20° 01’ 05” 22.57 Aries
2023 Dec 02 02h 02m 53s +19° 59’ 21” 22.57 Aries
2023 Dec 03 02h 02m 39s +19° 57’ 36” 22.58 Aries
2023 Dec 04 02h 02m 25s +19° 55’ 53” 22.58 Aries
2023 Dec 05 02h 02m 12s +19° 54’ 11” 22.59 Aries
2023 Dec 06 02h 01m 59s +19° 52’ 29” 22.59 Aries
2023 Dec 07 02h 01m 46s +19° 50’ 51” 22.60 Aries