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public  Acoyapa, Nicaragua Acoyapa, Nicaragua  ⓘ
TimezoneAmerica/Managua
Sunrise: 5:24 
Transit: 11:46 
Sunset: 18:08
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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 3:12 | Tran: 8:50 | Set: 14:28
Alt: -79.60°   Az: 177.96°   Direction: South

Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) is in the constellation of Eridanus, at a distance of 2,504,696,703.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 04h 32m 57s and the Declination is -22° 21’ 50” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 23.17.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
RA: 04h 31m 52s
Dec: -22° 25’ 00”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

04h 32m 57s
-22° 21’ 50”
12h 01m 35s
16h 34m 33s

J2000

04h 31m 52s
-22° 25’ 00”

Additional Information

Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.17

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) from Acoyapa, Nicaragua (all times relative to the local timezone America/Managua):

Azimuth: 112.4°
Max altitude: 55.7°
Azimuth: 247.6°

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/2020 F8 (SWAN) from Earth is currently 2,504,696,703.0 kilometers, equivalent to 16.7428633261 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2h 19m 14.769s to travel from comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) and arrive to us.

2,504,696,703.0
16.7428633261
2h 19m 14.769s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

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 tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) to Earth happened on Wednesday 13 May 2020 at a distance of 0.555957 Astronomical Units, or 83,170,050 kilometers:

Wednesday 13 May 2020
83,170,050
0.555957

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) at epoch April, 23 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458963.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99984071
Orbit inclination i 110.79607825°
Perihelion distance q 0.43031729 AU
64,374,551 km
Aphelion distance Q 5,402.56709183 AU
808,212,534,872 km
Semi-major axis a 2,701.49870456 AU
404,138,454,711 km
Orbital period period 140,415.5960 years
51,286,796.4402 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp May 27, 2020
2,458,997.0463 JD
Next perihelion transit November 18, 142438
53,745,793.4865 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 68.198141767531°
Longitude of the ascending node node 260.02865799143°
Mean anomaly M 359.99976452675°
Mean motion n 0.00000702°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) 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
Jul 04 2025 04h 31m 36s -22° 11’ 52” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 05 2025 04h 31m 48s -22° 13’ 09” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 06 2025 04h 32m 00s -22° 14’ 29” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 07 2025 04h 32m 11s -22° 15’ 50” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 08 2025 04h 32m 23s -22° 17’ 14” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 09 2025 04h 32m 34s -22° 18’ 40” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 10 2025 04h 32m 45s -22° 20’ 08” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 11 2025 04h 32m 56s -22° 21’ 39” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 12 2025 04h 33m 07s -22° 23’ 11” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 13 2025 04h 33m 18s -22° 24’ 45” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 14 2025 04h 33m 28s -22° 26’ 23” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 15 2025 04h 33m 39s -22° 28’ 01” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 16 2025 04h 33m 49s -22° 29’ 41” 23.17 Eridanus
Jul 17 2025 04h 33m 59s -22° 31’ 25” 23.17 Eridanus

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