Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8)
Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is currently in the constellation of Eridanus. The current Right Ascension of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is 03h 54m 06s and the Declination is -11° 15’ 45” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is 16.91 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- C/2020 F8 (SWAN) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 4° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, C/2020 F8 (SWAN) is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also C/2020 F8 (SWAN) rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) available on TheSkyLive:
Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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.
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 512,073,792 kilometers, equivalent to 3.423002 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28 minutes and 28.0943 seconds to travel from Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) and arrive to us.
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.
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 January 2013 and 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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is 16.91.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
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.
Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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 |
541,397.6100 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 | 543429-Feb-16 10:05 200,204,472.9201 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!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 14 | 03h 58m 30s | -11° 42’ 05” | 16.74 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 15 | 03h 57m 50s | -11° 38’ 56” | 16.76 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 16 | 03h 57m 11s | -11° 35’ 40” | 16.78 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 17 | 03h 56m 35s | -11° 32’ 20” | 16.80 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 18 | 03h 55m 59s | -11° 28’ 54” | 16.83 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 19 | 03h 55m 27s | -11° 25’ 23” | 16.85 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 03h 54m 55s | -11° 21’ 47” | 16.87 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 03h 54m 24s | -11° 18’ 06” | 16.89 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 03h 53m 56s | -11° 14’ 21” | 16.92 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 03h 53m 27s | -11° 10’ 32” | 16.94 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 03h 53m 02s | -11° 06’ 39” | 16.96 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 03h 52m 37s | -11° 02’ 43” | 16.98 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 03h 52m 14s | -10° 58’ 44” | 17.01 | Eridanus |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 03h 51m 52s | -10° 54’ 41” | 17.03 | Eridanus |