Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon)
Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is currently in the constellation of Hercules. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is 16h 36m 31s and the Declination is +16° 11’ 56” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is 17.16 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 18.0 (COBS).
Summary of key facts about Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) [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 S8 (Lemmon) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) available on TheSkyLive:
Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) from Earth is currently 305,611,526 kilometers, equivalent to 2.042887 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 59.4103 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 S8 (Lemmon) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) to Earth happens on Fri Apr 23 2021 at a distance of 1.418795 Astronomical Units, or 212,248,688 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) is 17.16.
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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon), 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/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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 C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) at epoch 30 September 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459123.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99128553 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 108.51727308° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.36398901 AU 353,647,723 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
540.17908300 AU 80,809,640,776 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
271.27153601 AU 40,581,644,249 km |
| Orbital period | period |
4,468.0100 years 1,631,942.1763 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Apr-10 22:04:45 2,459,315.4200 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 160.32724466409° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 24.05280215355° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.95766321279° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00022060°/day |
Visualization of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 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/2020 S8 (Lemmon) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2020 S8 (Lemmon) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Feb 26 | 16h 44m 48s | +16° 07’ 27” | 17.37 | Hercules |
| 2021 Feb 27 | 16h 43m 54s | +16° 07’ 53” | 17.34 | Hercules |
| 2021 Feb 28 | 16h 42m 56s | +16° 08’ 21” | 17.31 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 01 | 16h 41m 56s | +16° 08’ 54” | 17.28 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 02 | 16h 40m 51s | +16° 09’ 29” | 17.26 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 03 | 16h 39m 46s | +16° 10’ 08” | 17.23 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 04 | 16h 38m 35s | +16° 10’ 49” | 17.20 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 05 | 16h 37m 23s | +16° 11’ 30” | 17.17 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 06 | 16h 36m 06s | +16° 12’ 14” | 17.15 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 07 | 16h 34m 46s | +16° 12’ 57” | 17.12 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 08 | 16h 33m 23s | +16° 13’ 41” | 17.09 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 09 | 16h 31m 55s | +16° 14’ 26” | 17.06 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 10 | 16h 30m 25s | +16° 15’ 10” | 17.04 | Hercules |
| 2021 Mar 11 | 16h 28m 50s | +16° 15’ 52” | 17.01 | Hercules |