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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Comets » 

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8)

Altitude: -60.5°   Azimuth: 359.1°   Direction: North

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is currently in the constellation of Eridanus, at a distance of 2,044,688,138 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in Eridanus on March,19 2024
Map showing Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in Eridanus on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is 04h 07m 41s and the Declination is -21° 59’ 32” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is 22.33 (JPL).

04h 07m 41s
-21° 59’ 32”
Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.33

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 SWAN (C/2020 F8) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 112.0°
Max altitude: 16.5°
Azimuth: 248.0°
  • C/2020 F8 (SWAN) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 F8 (SWAN) 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.

Additional Resources

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
Map showing Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in Eridanus on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
RA: 04h 07m 41s
Dec: -21° 59’ 32”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) from Earth is currently 2,044,688,138 kilometers, equivalent to 13.667896 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 53 minutes and 40.3455 seconds to travel from Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) and arrive to us.

2,044,688,138
13.667896
1 hours, 53 minutes and 40.3455 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) 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 SWAN (C/2020 F8) 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/2020 F8 (SWAN) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) to Earth happens on Wed May 13 2020 at a distance of 0.555961 Astronomical Units, or 83,170,523 kilometers:

Wed May 13 2020
83,170,523
0.555961

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

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8), 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 SWAN (C/2020 F8) as a function of time

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) at epoch 25 April 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458965.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99993522
Orbit inclination i 110.79774989°
Perihelion distance q 0.43033201 AU
64,376,752 km
Aphelion distance Q 13,284.78960615 AU
1,987,376,241,764 km
Semi-major axis a 6,642.60996908 AU
993,720,309,258 km
Orbital period period 541,397.6068 years
197,745,475.8752 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-May-27 13:04:39
2,458,997.0449 JD
Next perihelion transit 2185-Jun-22 05:38
200,204,472.9201 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 68.193326113454°
Longitude of the ascending node node 260.02922794616°
Mean anomaly M 359.99994257181°
Mean motion n 0.00000182°/day

Visualization of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) 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 SWAN (C/2020 F8)
View Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 12 04h 06m 54s -22° 18’ 54” 22.31 Eridanus
2024 Mar 13 04h 07m 00s -22° 16’ 09” 22.31 Eridanus
2024 Mar 14 04h 07m 05s -22° 13’ 24” 22.31 Eridanus
2024 Mar 15 04h 07m 12s -22° 10’ 41” 22.32 Eridanus
2024 Mar 16 04h 07m 18s -22° 07’ 59” 22.32 Eridanus
2024 Mar 17 04h 07m 24s -22° 05’ 18” 22.32 Eridanus
2024 Mar 18 04h 07m 32s -22° 02’ 39” 22.33 Eridanus
2024 Mar 19 04h 07m 40s -22° 00’ 00” 22.33 Eridanus
2024 Mar 20 04h 07m 46s -21° 57’ 21” 22.34 Eridanus
2024 Mar 21 04h 07m 54s -21° 54’ 45” 22.34 Eridanus
2024 Mar 22 04h 08m 03s -21° 52’ 09” 22.34 Eridanus
2024 Mar 23 04h 08m 12s -21° 49’ 35” 22.35 Eridanus
2024 Mar 24 04h 08m 20s -21° 47’ 02” 22.35 Eridanus
2024 Mar 25 04h 08m 29s -21° 44’ 30” 22.35 Eridanus