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.
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 | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Sep 15 | 12.83 | 03h 58m 42s | +23° 13’ 08” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 16 | 12.84 | 03h 58m 33s | +23° 11’ 08” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 17 | 12.86 | 03h 58m 23s | +23° 09’ 02” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 18 | 12.88 | 03h 58m 09s | +23° 06’ 50” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 19 | 12.89 | 03h 57m 53s | +23° 04’ 29” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 20 | 12.91 | 03h 57m 36s | +23° 02’ 03” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 21 | 12.92 | 03h 57m 16s | +22° 59’ 29” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 22 | 12.94 | 03h 56m 54s | +22° 56’ 48” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 23 | 12.95 | 03h 56m 30s | +22° 54’ 01” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 24 | 12.97 | 03h 56m 03s | +22° 51’ 06” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 25 | 12.98 | 03h 55m 36s | +22° 48’ 03” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 26 | 13.00 | 03h 55m 05s | +22° 44’ 56” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 27 | 13.02 | 03h 54m 33s | +22° 41’ 39” | Taurus |
| 2017 Sep 28 | 13.03 | 03h 53m 59s | +22° 38’ 17” | 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.
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 23 October 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457685.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99753319 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.34648098° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.04220707 AU 155,911,958 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
843.94123311 AU 126,251,811,722 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
422.49172009 AU 63,203,861,840 km |
| Orbital period | period |
8,684.3100 years 3,171,945.5977 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2017-May-09 22:06:21 2,457,883.4211 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 10701-Nov-06 12:27 5,629,829.0188 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 68.167926825199° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 235.23412745947° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.97753694401° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00011350°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2017-Apr-19 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.17844533 AU 176,292,913 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.