Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS)
Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
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 behvior 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.
Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) Rise and Set Times
Today's Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) 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 C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Jan 15 | 04h 47m 30s | +19° 34’ 36” | 19.92 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 16 | 04h 47m 08s | +19° 34’ 08” | 19.94 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 17 | 04h 46m 50s | +19° 33’ 41” | 19.95 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 18 | 04h 46m 31s | +19° 33’ 15” | 19.96 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 19 | 04h 46m 11s | +19° 32’ 50” | 19.97 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 20 | 04h 45m 53s | +19° 32’ 27” | 19.98 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 21 | 04h 45m 37s | +19° 32’ 06” | 19.99 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 22 | 04h 45m 20s | +19° 31’ 45” | 20.00 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 23 | 04h 45m 03s | +19° 31’ 27” | 20.01 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 24 | 04h 44m 48s | +19° 31’ 09” | 20.02 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 25 | 04h 44m 34s | +19° 30’ 51” | 20.03 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 26 | 04h 44m 20s | +19° 30’ 36” | 20.04 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 27 | 04h 44m 06s | +19° 30’ 21” | 20.05 | Taurus |
| 2019 Jan 28 | 04h 43m 54s | +19° 30’ 09” | 20.06 | Taurus |
Distance of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS)
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS), 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 C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 27 April 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457871.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99728032 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.34864478° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.04213203 AU 155,900,733 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
765.32225923 AU 114,490,580,610 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
383.18219563 AU 57,323,240,671 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7,500.9500 years 2,739,721.4457 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2017-May-09 22:39:07 2,457,883.4438 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 9518-Jun-17 09:20 5,197,604.8896 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 68.19218066711° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 235.22180537444° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.99843057651° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00013140°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2017-Apr-19 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.17846421 AU 176,295,737 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.