Comet Encke (2P/Encke)

Comet 2P/Encke is a periodic comet that takes about 3.3 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. It was first discovered by Pierre Méchain on January 17, 1786, and was later independently rediscovered by Johann Franz Encke on November 2, 1818. The comet is named after Encke, who calculated its orbit and predicted its return in 1822. Comet 2P/Encke has a relatively short orbital period and its orbit is known for being influenced by the gravitational pull of Jupiter. It has an average distance from the Sun of about 2.2 astronomical units (AU) and an eccentricity of 0.85, which means its perihelion distance is only 0.34 AU while its aphelion distance is around 3.5 AU. Comet 2P/Encke is known for being a source of the Taurid meteor shower, which occurs every year in late October and early November as Earth passes through the dust and debris left behind by the comet.

Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is currently in the constellation of Pisces.

The current Right Ascension of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 01h 37m 11s and the Declination is +15° 53’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 19.38 (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 Encke (2P/Encke) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet Encke (2P/Encke)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Earth?)
• When does Comet Encke (2P/Encke) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet Encke (2P/Encke)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet Encke (2P/Encke) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet Encke (2P/Encke) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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 444,444,579 kilometers, equivalent to 2.970929 Astronomical Units. Light takes 24 minutes and 42.5075 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 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) to Earth happens on Sat Jul 5 1997 at a distance of 0.190251 Astronomical Units, or 28,461,076 kilometers:

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

Comet Encke (2P/Encke) Brightness and Light Curve

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.

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!

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
2023 May 22	01h 25m 27s	+14° 33’ 03”	19.54	Pisces
2023 May 23	01h 26m 57s	+14° 43’ 28”	19.52	Pisces
2023 May 24	01h 28m 28s	+14° 53’ 54”	19.50	Pisces
2023 May 25	01h 30m 01s	+15° 04’ 23”	19.48	Pisces
2023 May 26	01h 31m 32s	+15° 14’ 54”	19.46	Pisces
2023 May 27	01h 33m 05s	+15° 25’ 27”	19.44	Pisces
2023 May 28	01h 34m 37s	+15° 36’ 02”	19.41	Pisces
2023 May 29	01h 36m 11s	+15° 46’ 40”	19.39	Pisces
2023 May 30	01h 37m 45s	+15° 57’ 20”	19.37	Pisces
2023 May 31	01h 39m 20s	+16° 08’ 00”	19.35	Pisces
2023 Jun 01	01h 40m 54s	+16° 18’ 45”	19.33	Pisces
2023 Jun 02	01h 42m 30s	+16° 29’ 31”	19.31	Pisces
2023 Jun 03	01h 44m 07s	+16° 40’ 19”	19.28	Pisces
2023 Jun 04	01h 45m 43s	+16° 51’ 11”	19.26	Pisces