Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is 00h 58m 41s and the Declination is -05° 24’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is 19.52 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) [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]:
- 6478 Gault is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, 6478 Gault is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 6478 Gault 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 Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) available on TheSkyLive:
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.


Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
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Also check out Where is Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) from Earth is currently 407,996,306 kilometers, equivalent to 2.727287 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22 minutes and 40.9292 seconds to travel from Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 6478 Gault from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) to Earth happens on Fri May 27 2072 at a distance of 0.989871 Astronomical Units, or 148,082,522 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is 19.52.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1), 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.
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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.
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) at epoch 30 May 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.19372679 |
Orbit inclination | i | 22.81118646° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.85881335 AU 278,074,519 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
2.75206376 AU 411,702,880 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
2.30543855 AU 344,888,699 km |
Orbital period | period |
3.5000 years 1,278.5825 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2020-Jan-02 16:43:45 2,458,851.1971 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2023-Jul-04 06:42 2,460,129.7796 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 83.212876235123° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 183.53885488304° |
Mean anomaly | M | 42.038007052593° |
Mean motion | n | 0.28156181°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 Jan 17 | 00h 49m 31s | -06° 11’ 47” | 19.45 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 18 | 00h 50m 44s | -06° 05’ 34” | 19.46 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 19 | 00h 51m 57s | -05° 59’ 17” | 19.47 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 20 | 00h 53m 12s | -05° 52’ 57” | 19.48 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 21 | 00h 54m 26s | -05° 46’ 32” | 19.49 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 22 | 00h 55m 41s | -05° 40’ 05” | 19.50 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 23 | 00h 56m 57s | -05° 33’ 35” | 19.51 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 24 | 00h 58m 14s | -05° 27’ 02” | 19.52 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 25 | 00h 59m 30s | -05° 20’ 26” | 19.53 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 26 | 01h 00m 48s | -05° 13’ 48” | 19.54 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 27 | 01h 02m 05s | -05° 07’ 05” | 19.55 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 28 | 01h 03m 24s | -05° 00’ 21” | 19.55 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 29 | 01h 04m 42s | -04° 53’ 35” | 19.56 | Cetus |
2021 Jan 30 | 01h 06m 02s | -04° 46’ 46” | 19.57 | Cetus |