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Comets » 

Comet Encke (2P/Encke)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 7:39 | Tran: 12:46 | Set: 17:54
Alt: -41.96°   Az: 40.99°   Direction: North-East

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 MĂ©chain 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 in the constellation of Aquarius, at a distance of 741,142,397.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 22h 21m 31s and the Declination is -09° 59’ 44” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is 21.68 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in Aquarius on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in Aquarius on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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.

2P/Encke
RA: 22h 20m 12s
Dec: -10° 07’ 21”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet Encke (2P/Encke). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

22h 21m 31s
-09° 59’ 44”
13h 58m 44s
12h 20m 16s

J2000

22h 20m 12s
-10° 07’ 21”

Additional Information

Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.68

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 100.0°
Max altitude: 28.6°
Azimuth: 260.1°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Earth is currently 741,142,397.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.9542309228 Astronomical Units. Light takes 41m 12.185s to travel from Comet Encke (2P/Encke) and arrive to us.

741,142,397.0
4.9542309228
41m 12.185s

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.

Chart of the distance of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 2P/Encke from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

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 0.190257 Astronomical Units, or 28,462,061 kilometers:

Sat Jul 5 1997
28,462,061
0.190257

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

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Encke (2P/Encke) at epoch 06 January 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457760.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.84833408
Orbit inclination i 11.77822630°
Perihelion distance q 0.33590100 AU
50,250,075 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.09358455 AU
612,391,533 km
Semi-major axis a 2.21474278 AU
331,320,804 km
Orbital period period 3.2960 years
1,203.8805 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2017-Mar-10 02:13:14
2,457,822.5925 JD
Next perihelion transit 2020-Jun-25 23:21
2,459,026.4730 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 186.56269392°
Longitude of the ascending node node 334.56005331322°
Mean anomaly M 341.43228384528°
Mean motion n 0.29903301°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet Encke (2P/Encke)
View Comet Encke (2P/Encke) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 06 22h 15m 12s -10° 39’ 16” 21.65 Aquarius
2025 Feb 07 22h 16m 05s -10° 33’ 45” 21.66 Aquarius
2025 Feb 08 22h 16m 59s -10° 28’ 13” 21.66 Aquarius
2025 Feb 09 22h 17m 51s -10° 22’ 40” 21.66 Aquarius
2025 Feb 10 22h 18m 45s -10° 17’ 07” 21.67 Aquarius
2025 Feb 11 22h 19m 38s -10° 11’ 32” 21.67 Aquarius
2025 Feb 12 22h 20m 32s -10° 05’ 58” 21.67 Aquarius
2025 Feb 13 22h 21m 25s -10° 00’ 23” 21.68 Aquarius
2025 Feb 14 22h 22m 19s -09° 54’ 47” 21.68 Aquarius
2025 Feb 15 22h 23m 12s -09° 49’ 10” 21.68 Aquarius
2025 Feb 16 22h 24m 06s -09° 43’ 32” 21.68 Aquarius
2025 Feb 17 22h 24m 59s -09° 37’ 54” 21.69 Aquarius
2025 Feb 18 22h 25m 53s -09° 32’ 17” 21.69 Aquarius
2025 Feb 19 22h 26m 46s -09° 26’ 38” 21.69 Aquarius

Additional Resources