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Comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 2:53 | Tran: 9:09 | Set: 15:24
Alt: 37.91°   Az: 210.87°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) is in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 376,516,211.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 02h 28m 17s and the Declination is +03° 23’ 03” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 15.28).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the constellation of Cetus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the constellation of Cetus 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos)
RA: 02h 26m 58s
Dec: +03° 16’ 14”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

02h 28m 17s
+03° 23’ 03”
01h 35m 41s
04h 03m 58s

J2000

02h 26m 58s
+03° 16’ 14”

Additional Information

Cetus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
15.28

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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 86.5°
Max altitude: 41.9°
Azimuth: 273.3°

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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Earth is currently 376,516,211.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.5168554154 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20m 55.923s to travel from comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) and arrive to us.

376,516,211.0
2.5168554154
20m 55.923s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) to Earth will happen on Sunday 31 August 2025 at a distance of 2.171529 Astronomical Units, or 324,856,068 kilometers:

Sunday 31 August 2025
324,856,068
2.171529

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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos), 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) at epoch May, 08 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460439.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.98778194
Orbit inclination i 79.28867326°
Perihelion distance q 1.81044617 AU
270,838,892 km
Aphelion distance Q 294.54529918 AU
44,063,349,670 km
Semi-major axis a 148.17787267 AU
22,167,094,281 km
Orbital period period 1,803.7786 years
658,830.1418 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp March 19, 2025
2,460,754.2211 JD
Next perihelion transit January 11, 3829
3,119,584.3629 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 143.16241960928°
Longitude of the ascending node node 189.0549188807°
Mean anomaly M 359.82802912203°
Mean motion n 0.00054642°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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
Jun 19 2025 02h 17m 53s +05° 30’ 38” 15.15 Cetus
Jun 20 2025 02h 19m 20s +05° 14’ 08” 15.17 Cetus
Jun 21 2025 02h 20m 45s +04° 57’ 24” 15.18 Cetus
Jun 22 2025 02h 22m 10s +04° 40’ 27” 15.20 Cetus
Jun 23 2025 02h 23m 34s +04° 23’ 17” 15.22 Cetus
Jun 24 2025 02h 24m 58s +04° 05’ 53” 15.23 Cetus
Jun 25 2025 02h 26m 21s +03° 48’ 15” 15.25 Cetus
Jun 26 2025 02h 27m 44s +03° 30’ 22” 15.27 Cetus
Jun 27 2025 02h 29m 05s +03° 12’ 16” 15.29 Cetus
Jun 28 2025 02h 30m 26s +02° 53’ 55” 15.30 Cetus
Jun 29 2025 02h 31m 47s +02° 35’ 20” 15.32 Cetus
Jun 30 2025 02h 33m 06s +02° 16’ 30” 15.34 Cetus
Jul 01 2025 02h 34m 25s +01° 57’ 25” 15.35 Cetus
Jul 02 2025 02h 35m 42s +01° 38’ 05” 15.37 Cetus

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