Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1)

Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is currently in the constellation of Ara.

The current Right Ascension of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is 17h 02m 50s and the Declination is -54° 51’ 57” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is 45.43 (JPL).

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 McNaught (C/2006 P1) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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.

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) from Earth?)
• When does Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) from Earth is currently 5,262,885,326 kilometers, equivalent to 35.180215 Astronomical Units. Light takes 4 hours, 52 minutes and 35.0958 seconds to travel from Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) 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.

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/2006 P1 (McNaught) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) to Earth happens on Sun May 19 2013 at a distance of 18.313111 Astronomical Units, or 2,739,602,358 kilometers:

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

Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1), 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.

Visualization of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) 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!

Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 May 21	17h 04m 12s	-54° 51’ 29”	45.42	Ara
2023 May 22	17h 04m 00s	-54° 51’ 37”	45.42	Ara
2023 May 23	17h 03m 50s	-54° 51’ 42”	45.42	Ara
2023 May 24	17h 03m 38s	-54° 51’ 47”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 25	17h 03m 28s	-54° 51’ 51”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 26	17h 03m 16s	-54° 51’ 54”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 27	17h 03m 06s	-54° 51’ 56”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 28	17h 02m 53s	-54° 51’ 56”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 29	17h 02m 43s	-54° 51’ 56”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 30	17h 02m 31s	-54° 51’ 55”	45.43	Ara
2023 May 31	17h 02m 21s	-54° 51’ 52”	45.43	Ara
2023 Jun 01	17h 02m 08s	-54° 51’ 50”	45.43	Ara
2023 Jun 02	17h 01m 58s	-54° 51’ 46”	45.44	Ara
2023 Jun 03	17h 01m 46s	-54° 51’ 41”	45.44	Ara