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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:41  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:26
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Comets » 

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)

Altitude: -0.2°   Azimuth: 146.8°   Direction: South-South-East

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is currently in the constellation of Fornax, at a distance of 544,446,695 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in Fornax on March,29 2024
Map showing Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in Fornax on March, 29 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is 02h 17m 29s and the Declination is -31° 35’ 48” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is 15.38 (JPL).

02h 17m 29s
-31° 35’ 48”
Fornax
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
15.38

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 C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 121.6°
Max altitude: 6.9°
Azimuth: 238.4°
  • C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 20 inches (500mm) or more.
  • 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 C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)
Map showing Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in Fornax on March, 29 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)
RA: 02h 17m 29s
Dec: -31° 35’ 48”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) from Earth is currently 544,446,695 kilometers, equivalent to 3.639401 Astronomical Units. Light takes 30 minutes and 16.0787 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) and arrive to us.

544,446,695
3.639401
30 minutes and 16.0787 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2022 S4 (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.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) 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/2022 S4 (Lemmon) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) to Earth happens on Sun Jul 28 2024 at a distance of 2.750979 Astronomical Units, or 411,540,584 kilometers:

Sun Jul 28 2024
411,540,584
2.750979

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

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2022 S4 (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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) as a function of time

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) at epoch 24 October 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459877.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00036228
Orbit inclination i 101.03040527°
Perihelion distance q 2.76707036 AU
413,947,834 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Jul-18 04:18:16
2,460,509.6794 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 268.3493290053°
Longitude of the ascending node node 220.15574593958°
Mean anomaly M -0.00093344584387356°
Mean motion n 0.00000148°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 S4 (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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon)
View Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2022 S4 (Lemmon) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2022 S4 (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/2022 S4 (Lemmon) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 22 02h 10m 04s -31° 15’ 59” 15.44 Fornax
2024 Mar 23 02h 11m 02s -31° 18’ 17” 15.43 Fornax
2024 Mar 24 02h 12m 00s -31° 20’ 43” 15.42 Fornax
2024 Mar 25 02h 12m 57s -31° 23’ 13” 15.41 Fornax
2024 Mar 26 02h 13m 58s -31° 25’ 50” 15.40 Fornax
2024 Mar 27 02h 14m 57s -31° 28’ 35” 15.40 Fornax
2024 Mar 28 02h 15m 59s -31° 31’ 24” 15.39 Fornax
2024 Mar 29 02h 17m 00s -31° 34’ 22” 15.38 Fornax
2024 Mar 30 02h 18m 02s -31° 37’ 26” 15.37 Fornax
2024 Mar 31 02h 19m 05s -31° 40’ 36” 15.36 Fornax
2024 Apr 01 02h 20m 09s -31° 43’ 54” 15.35 Fornax
2024 Apr 02 02h 21m 15s -31° 47’ 18” 15.34 Fornax
2024 Apr 03 02h 22m 21s -31° 50’ 52” 15.33 Fornax
2024 Apr 04 02h 23m 26s -31° 54’ 32” 15.32 Fornax