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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:45  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:23

Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)

Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is 16h 58m 46s and the Declination is +00° 08’ 27” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is 17.75 (JPL).

16h 58m 46s
+00° 08’ 27”
Ophiucus
17.75

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 89.8°
Max altitude: 38.5°
Azimuth: 270.1°
  • 6478 Gault is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Given its current magnitude, 6478 Gault is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Available Resources

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.

Map showing Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) in Ophiucus on March, 28 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) in Ophiucus on March, 28 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

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.

6478 Gault
RA: 16h 58m 46s
Dec: +00° 08’ 27”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 198,063,581 kilometers, equivalent to 1.323973 Astronomical Units. Light takes 11 minutes and 0.6690 seconds to travel from Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) and arrive to us.

198,063,581
1.323973
11 minutes and 0.6690 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) to Earth happens on Fri May 27 2072 at a distance of 0.989870 Astronomical Units, or 148,082,517 kilometers:

Fri May 27 2072
148,082,517
0.989870

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 17.75.

17.75

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) as a function of time

Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.19300949
Orbit inclination i 22.81260612°
Perihelion distance q 1.86081372 AU
278,373,771 km
Aphelion distance Q 2.75092259 AU
411,532,163 km
Semi-major axis a 2.30586816 AU
344,952,967 km
Orbital period period 3.5015 years
1,278.9399 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jul-04 01:53:00
2,460,129.5785 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 83.150081837605°
Longitude of the ascending node node 183.52776004818°
Mean anomaly M 323.66658562093°
Mean motion n 0.28148313°/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!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)
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
2023 Mar 21 16h 49m 39s -02° 04’ 36” 17.90 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 22 16h 50m 54s -01° 48’ 11” 17.88 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 23 16h 52m 09s -01° 31’ 29” 17.86 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 24 16h 53m 21s -01° 14’ 35” 17.84 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 25 16h 54m 33s -00° 57’ 24” 17.82 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 26 16h 55m 44s -00° 40’ 00” 17.80 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 27 16h 56m 53s -00° 22’ 22” 17.78 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 28 16h 58m 00s -00° 04’ 28” 17.76 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 29 16h 59m 04s +00° 13’ 36” 17.74 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 30 17h 00m 10s +00° 31’ 55” 17.72 Ophiucus
2023 Mar 31 17h 01m 11s +00° 50’ 29” 17.70 Ophiucus
2023 Apr 01 17h 02m 12s +01° 09’ 15” 17.67 Ophiucus
2023 Apr 02 17h 03m 12s +01° 28’ 14” 17.65 Ophiucus
2023 Apr 03 17h 04m 10s +01° 47’ 24” 17.63 Ophiucus