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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:12 
Transit: 12:56 
Sunset: 20:41
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Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -42.21°   Az: 223.56°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is in the constellation of Centaurus, at a distance of 7,778,950,856.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 13h 44m 41s and the Declination is -59° 18’ 32” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is 34.49 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in Centaurus on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in Centaurus on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)
RA: 13h 42m 58s
Dec: -59° 10’ 55”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

13h 44m 41s
-59° 18’ 32”
05h 59m 17s
19h 43m 58s

J2000

13h 42m 58s
-59° 10’ 55”

Additional Information

Centaurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
34.49

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

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):

Today Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is not visible from Greenwich, UK

  • C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from Earth is currently 7,778,950,856.0 kilometers, equivalent to 51.9990747168 Astronomical Units. Light takes 7h 12m 27.787s to travel from Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) and arrive to us.

7,778,950,856.0
51.9990747168
7h 12m 27.787s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 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/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) to Earth happens on Wed Apr 24 2013 at a distance of 36.164740 Astronomical Units, or 5,410,168,144 kilometers:

Wed Apr 24 2013
5,410,168,144
36.164740

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), 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/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 14 March 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 1996-May-01 09:27:34
2,450,204.8941 JD
Next perihelion transit 99940-Dec-11 00:25
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

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)
View Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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
2025 May 06 13h 45m 37s -59° 22’ 32” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 07 13h 45m 30s -59° 22’ 01” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 08 13h 45m 22s -59° 21’ 29” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 09 13h 45m 14s -59° 20’ 56” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 10 13h 45m 06s -59° 20’ 23” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 11 13h 44m 57s -59° 19’ 49” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 12 13h 44m 50s -59° 19’ 14” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 13 13h 44m 42s -59° 18’ 39” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 14 13h 44m 35s -59° 18’ 03” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 15 13h 44m 27s -59° 17’ 26” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 16 13h 44m 20s -59° 16’ 48” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 17 13h 44m 13s -59° 16’ 10” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 18 13h 44m 05s -59° 15’ 31” 34.49 Centaurus
2025 May 19 13h 43m 58s -59° 14’ 51” 34.49 Centaurus

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive