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 00m 28s and the Declination is -53° 08’ 17” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom ). The current estimated magnitude of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is 45.77 (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 (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- C/2006 P1 (McNaught) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Given its current magnitude, C/2006 P1 (McNaught) is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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 5,629,039,736 kilometers, equivalent to 37.627807 Astronomical Units. Light takes 5 hours, 12 minutes and 56.4555 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.
Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) at epoch 25 November 2006 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454065.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 1.00001882 |
Orbit inclination | i | 77.83700055° |
Perihelion distance | q | 0.17073646 AU 25,541,812 km |
Aphelion distance | Q | n.a. |
Semi-major axis | a | n.a. |
Orbital period | period | n.a. |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2007-Jan-12 19:10:20 2,454,113.2988 JD |
Argument of perihelion | peri | 155.97496811491° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 267.41480264354° |
Mean anomaly | M | -5.4502812965141E-5° |
Mean motion | n | 0.00000114°/day |
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!
View Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
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 Nov 28 | 16h 59m 05s | -53° 08’ 02” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Nov 29 | 16h 59m 17s | -53° 08’ 02” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Nov 30 | 16h 59m 26s | -53° 08’ 00” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 01 | 16h 59m 38s | -53° 08’ 02” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 02 | 16h 59m 48s | -53° 08’ 03” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 03 | 16h 59m 58s | -53° 08’ 05” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 04 | 17h 00m 09s | -53° 08’ 08” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 05 | 17h 00m 20s | -53° 08’ 12” | 45.76 | Ara |
2023 Dec 06 | 17h 00m 30s | -53° 08’ 17” | 45.77 | Ara |
2023 Dec 07 | 17h 00m 41s | -53° 08’ 22” | 45.77 | Ara |
2023 Dec 08 | 17h 00m 51s | -53° 08’ 30” | 45.77 | Ara |
2023 Dec 09 | 17h 01m 02s | -53° 08’ 36” | 45.77 | Ara |
2023 Dec 10 | 17h 01m 13s | -53° 08’ 44” | 45.77 | Ara |
2023 Dec 11 | 17h 01m 23s | -53° 08’ 53” | 45.77 | Ara |