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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:39  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 20:14
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)

Altitude: 62.2°   Azimuth: 161.9°   Direction: South-South-East

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 1,150,433,812 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in Taurus on April,27 2024
Map showing Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in Taurus on April, 27 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is 04h 02m 59s and the Declination is +24° 37’ 31” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is 20.38 (JPL).

04h 02m 59s
+24° 37’ 31”
Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.38

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/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 65.4°
Max altitude: 63.1°
Azimuth: 294.7°
  • C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 62° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) 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 C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
Map showing Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in Taurus on April, 27 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
RA: 04h 02m 59s
Dec: +24° 37’ 31”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth is currently 1,150,433,812 kilometers, equivalent to 7.690175 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 3 minutes and 57.4341 seconds to travel from Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) and arrive to us.

1,150,433,812
7.690175
1 hours, 3 minutes and 57.4341 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 X2 (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/2023 X2 (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/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) to Earth

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) to Earth happens on Thu Dec 11 2025 at a distance of 4.685871 Astronomical Units, or 700,996,300 kilometers:

Thu Dec 11 2025
700,996,300
4.685871

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

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 X2 (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/2023 X2 (Lemmon) as a function of time

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) at epoch 14 November 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460263.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00026821
Orbit inclination i 76.97216583°
Perihelion distance q 5.10406882 AU
763,557,829 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Dec-26 04:55:37
2,461,035.7053 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 64.41724499719°
Longitude of the ascending node node 66.312315335703°
Mean anomaly M -0.00028991137994484°
Mean motion n 0.00000038°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2023 X2 (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/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
View Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 X2 (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/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Apr 20 03h 59m 26s +24° 02’ 39” 20.40 Taurus
2024 Apr 21 03h 59m 53s +24° 07’ 14” 20.40 Taurus
2024 Apr 22 04h 00m 20s +24° 11’ 51” 20.39 Taurus
2024 Apr 23 04h 00m 48s +24° 16’ 27” 20.39 Taurus
2024 Apr 24 04h 01m 17s +24° 21’ 05” 20.39 Taurus
2024 Apr 25 04h 01m 45s +24° 25’ 42” 20.39 Taurus
2024 Apr 26 04h 02m 14s +24° 30’ 20” 20.39 Taurus
2024 Apr 27 04h 02m 44s +24° 34’ 59” 20.38 Taurus
2024 Apr 28 04h 03m 12s +24° 39’ 39” 20.38 Taurus
2024 Apr 29 04h 03m 42s +24° 44’ 20” 20.38 Taurus
2024 Apr 30 04h 04m 13s +24° 49’ 00” 20.38 Taurus
2024 May 01 04h 04m 42s +24° 53’ 41” 20.37 Taurus
2024 May 02 04h 05m 12s +24° 58’ 23” 20.37 Taurus
2024 May 03 04h 05m 44s +25° 03’ 06” 20.37 Taurus