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
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 local timezone Europe/London.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Aug 09 | 05h 21m 34s | +21° 23’ 54” | 19.62 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 10 | 05h 22m 05s | +21° 23’ 52” | 19.62 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 11 | 05h 22m 35s | +21° 23’ 48” | 19.63 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 12 | 05h 23m 03s | +21° 23’ 44” | 19.63 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 13 | 05h 23m 31s | +21° 23’ 38” | 19.64 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 14 | 05h 24m 00s | +21° 23’ 31” | 19.64 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 15 | 05h 24m 26s | +21° 23’ 24” | 19.65 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 16 | 05h 24m 52s | +21° 23’ 16” | 19.65 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 17 | 05h 25m 18s | +21° 23’ 06” | 19.65 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 18 | 05h 25m 45s | +21° 22’ 55” | 19.66 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 19 | 05h 26m 09s | +21° 22’ 45” | 19.66 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 20 | 05h 26m 34s | +21° 22’ 32” | 19.67 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 21 | 05h 26m 57s | +21° 22’ 18” | 19.67 | Taurus |
| 2018 Aug 22 | 05h 27m 20s | +21° 22’ 05” | 19.68 | 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 25 April 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457869.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99728238 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.34864768° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.04213183 AU 155,900,703 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
765.90104016 AU 114,577,165,004 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
383.47158599 AU 57,366,532,854 km |
| Orbital period | period |
7,509.4500 years 2,742,825.7079 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2017-May-09 22:39:07 2,457,883.4438 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 9526-Dec-16 15:38 5,200,709.1517 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 68.192153918413° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 235.22182486811° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.99816985069° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00013125°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2017-Apr-19 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.17846385 AU 176,295,683 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.