Comet Encke (2P/Encke)
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is currently in the constellation of Capricornus. The current Right Ascension of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 21h 08m 30s and the Declination is -19° 03’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 19.72 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet Encke (2P/Encke) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- Encke's Comet is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 15° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, Encke's Comet is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also Encke's Comet rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet Encke (2P/Encke) available on TheSkyLive:
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet Encke (2P/Encke) 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 Encke (2P/Encke) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet Encke (2P/Encke)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Earth is currently 564,046,444 kilometers, equivalent to 3.770418 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 21.4564 seconds to travel from Comet Encke (2P/Encke) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) 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 Encke's Comet from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) to Earth happens on Sat Jul 7 2063 at a distance of 0.194182 Astronomical Units, or 29,049,243 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 19.72.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet Encke (2P/Encke), 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 Encke (2P/Encke) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet Encke (2P/Encke) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) at epoch 04 May 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457147.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.84833603 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.78199782° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.33595713 AU 50,258,471 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.09432546 AU 612,502,372 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.21514129 AU 331,380,421 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.3000 years 1,204.2054 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Nov-21 18:39:22 2,456,618.2773 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Mar-09 23:35 2,457,822.4828 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 186.54464586831° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 334.56787256872° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 158.21233783681° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.29895232°/day |
Visualization of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) 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 Encke (2P/Encke) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jan 14 | 20h 58m 01s | -19° 54’ 52” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 15 | 20h 59m 25s | -19° 48’ 07” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 16 | 21h 00m 48s | -19° 41’ 21” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 17 | 21h 02m 12s | -19° 34’ 36” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 18 | 21h 03m 33s | -19° 27’ 48” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 19 | 21h 04m 55s | -19° 21’ 02” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 20 | 21h 06m 18s | -19° 14’ 15” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 21 | 21h 07m 40s | -19° 07’ 27” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 22 | 21h 09m 01s | -19° 00’ 39” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 23 | 21h 10m 22s | -18° 53’ 52” | 19.72 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 24 | 21h 11m 43s | -18° 47’ 03” | 19.71 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 25 | 21h 13m 03s | -18° 40’ 15” | 19.71 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 26 | 21h 14m 22s | -18° 33’ 27” | 19.71 | Capricornus |
| 2021 Jan 27 | 21h 15m 42s | -18° 26’ 39” | 19.71 | Capricornus |