Comet Encke (2P/Encke)
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Position
Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension is 22h 49m 18s and the Declination is -00° 18’ 33”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is right now (view fullscreen)
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
The distance of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Earth is currently 367,870,363 kilometers, equivalent to 2.459061 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20 minutes and 27.0834 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 0.19425637 Astronomical Units, or 29,060,340 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 19.43.
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 behvior 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, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere 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 11 April 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457124.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.84833189 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 11.78198402° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.33596578 AU 50,259,766 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.09431000 AU 612,500,060 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.21513789 AU 331,379,913 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.3000 years 1,204.2026 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2013-Nov-21 18:23:40 2,456,618.2664 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Mar-09 23:15 2,457,822.4691 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 186.5441393086° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 334.5678708156° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 151.34004277951° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.29895301°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Nov 14 | 22h 51m 23s | +00° 04’ 23” | 19.36 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 15 | 22h 51m 02s | +00° 00’ 57” | 19.37 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 16 | 22h 50m 43s | -00° 02’ 17” | 19.38 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 17 | 22h 50m 25s | -00° 05’ 24” | 19.39 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 18 | 22h 50m 08s | -00° 08’ 21” | 19.40 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 19 | 22h 49m 53s | -00° 11’ 11” | 19.40 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 20 | 22h 49m 40s | -00° 13’ 50” | 19.41 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 21 | 22h 49m 27s | -00° 16’ 21” | 19.42 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 22 | 22h 49m 18s | -00° 18’ 42” | 19.43 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 23 | 22h 49m 09s | -00° 20’ 53” | 19.43 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 24 | 22h 49m 01s | -00° 22’ 55” | 19.44 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 25 | 22h 48m 56s | -00° 24’ 48” | 19.45 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 26 | 22h 48m 52s | -00° 26’ 32” | 19.45 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Nov 27 | 22h 48m 50s | -00° 28’ 06” | 19.46 | Aquarius |