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Sunrise: 4:45 
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Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -62.92°   Az: 123.90°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is in the constellation of Centaurus, at a distance of 7,832,633,722.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 13h 40m 36s and the Declination is -58° 44’ 00” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 34.52).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in the constellation of Centaurus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in the constellation of Centaurus 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)
RA: 13h 38m 54s
Dec: -58° 36’ 16”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

13h 40m 36s
-58° 44’ 00”
15h 06m 51s
04h 47m 28s

J2000

13h 38m 54s
-58° 36’ 16”

Additional Information

Centaurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
34.52

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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Greenwich, UKToday comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is not visible from

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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from Earth is currently 7,832,633,722.0 kilometers, equivalent to 52.3579225115 Astronomical Units. Light takes 7h 15m 26.854s to travel from comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) and arrive to us.

7,832,633,722.0
52.3579225115
7h 15m 26.854s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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, 2013 and December 30, 2100, the closest approach of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) to Earth happened on Wednesday 24 April 2013 at a distance of 36.164740 Astronomical Units, or 5,410,168,144 kilometers:

Wednesday 24 April 2013
5,410,168,144
36.164740

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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) at epoch March, 14 1996 00:00 UTC (JD: 2450157.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99989165
Orbit inclination i 124.92204939°
Perihelion distance q 0.23022353 AU
34,440,950 km
Aphelion distance Q 4,249.28066526 AU
635,683,340,804 km
Semi-major axis a 2,124.75544439 AU
317,858,890,877 km
Orbital period period 97,942.5999 years
35,773,534.6234 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp May 1, 1996
2,450,204.8941 JD
Next perihelion transit December 11, 99940
38,223,739.5176 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 130.1751209781°
Longitude of the ascending node node 188.04513199216°
Mean anomaly M 359.99952305825°
Mean motion n 0.00001006°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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 13h 41m 03s -58° 50’ 31” 34.51 Centaurus
Jun 20 2025 13h 40m 59s -58° 49’ 39” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 21 2025 13h 40m 55s -58° 48’ 46” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 22 2025 13h 40m 52s -58° 47’ 53” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 23 2025 13h 40m 48s -58° 47’ 01” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 24 2025 13h 40m 45s -58° 46’ 08” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 25 2025 13h 40m 40s -58° 45’ 16” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 26 2025 13h 40m 37s -58° 44’ 23” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 27 2025 13h 40m 34s -58° 43’ 30” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 28 2025 13h 40m 31s -58° 42’ 37” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 29 2025 13h 40m 29s -58° 41’ 44” 34.52 Centaurus
Jun 30 2025 13h 40m 26s -58° 40’ 51” 34.52 Centaurus
Jul 01 2025 13h 40m 24s -58° 39’ 58” 34.52 Centaurus
Jul 02 2025 13h 40m 21s -58° 39’ 05” 34.52 Centaurus

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