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Comets » 

Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 11:33 | Tran: 16:57 | Set: 22:22
Alt: 25.88°   Az: 144.80°   Direction: South-East

Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) is in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 3,397,497,329.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 02h 45m 42s and the Declination is -06° 40’ 40” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) is 36.42 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) in Cetus on February, 16 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) in Cetus on February, 16 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE)
RA: 02h 44m 27s
Dec: -06° 46’ 59”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

02h 45m 42s
-06° 40’ 40”
21h 54m 05s
00h 39m 48s

J2000

02h 44m 27s
-06° 46’ 59”

Additional Information

Cetus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
36.42

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 96.7°
Max altitude: 31.8°
Azimuth: 263.3°
  • C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 25.88° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) from Earth is currently 3,397,497,329.0 kilometers, equivalent to 22.7108668934 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3h 8m 52.831s to travel from Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) and arrive to us.

3,397,497,329.0
22.7108668934
3h 8m 52.831s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) 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/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) 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/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) to Earth happens on Mon Dec 12 2016 at a distance of 0.709002 Astronomical Units, or 106,065,204 kilometers:

Mon Dec 12 2016
106,065,204
0.709002

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE), 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/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) at epoch 11 December 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457734.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00025297
Orbit inclination i 46.43483258°
Perihelion distance q 0.31916965 AU
47,747,100 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2017-Jan-14 00:24:03
2,457,767.5167 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 162.74827034161°
Longitude of the ascending node node 61.428520744735°
Mean anomaly M -0.00072613145388743°
Mean motion n 0.00002199°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE)
View Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2016 U1 (NEOWISE) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 09 02h 45m 26s -06° 49’ 58” 36.40 Cetus
2025 Feb 10 02h 45m 28s -06° 48’ 46” 36.40 Cetus
2025 Feb 11 02h 45m 29s -06° 47’ 34” 36.40 Cetus
2025 Feb 12 02h 45m 31s -06° 46’ 21” 36.41 Cetus
2025 Feb 13 02h 45m 33s -06° 45’ 08” 36.41 Cetus
2025 Feb 14 02h 45m 35s -06° 43’ 55” 36.41 Cetus
2025 Feb 15 02h 45m 38s -06° 42’ 41” 36.42 Cetus
2025 Feb 16 02h 45m 40s -06° 41’ 26” 36.42 Cetus
2025 Feb 17 02h 45m 43s -06° 40’ 12” 36.42 Cetus
2025 Feb 18 02h 45m 46s -06° 38’ 57” 36.43 Cetus
2025 Feb 19 02h 45m 49s -06° 37’ 41” 36.43 Cetus
2025 Feb 20 02h 45m 52s -06° 36’ 27” 36.43 Cetus
2025 Feb 21 02h 45m 55s -06° 35’ 11” 36.43 Cetus
2025 Feb 22 02h 45m 59s -06° 33’ 55” 36.44 Cetus

Additional Resources