Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1)
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Position
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension is 15h 01m 49s and the Declination is -04° 36’ 36”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) 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 Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) is right now (view fullscreen)
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
The distance of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) from Earth is currently 418,778,513 kilometers, equivalent to 2.799361 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23 minutes and 16.8948 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 0.98987051 Astronomical Units, or 148,082,521 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 18.71.
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, 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.
Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 6478 Gault (1988 JC1) at epoch 26 April 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.19358727 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.81132238° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.85889831 AU 278,087,230 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.75139177 AU 411,602,351 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.30514504 AU 344,844,791 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.5000 years 1,278.3383 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2020-Jan-02 21:03:22 2,458,851.3773 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 83.267692428936° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 183.55763410205° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 289.34903025175° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.28161559°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Oct 14 | 14h 45m 07s | -03° 44’ 12” | 18.75 | Virgo |
| 2019 Oct 15 | 14h 47m 26s | -03° 51’ 42” | 18.74 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 16 | 14h 49m 45s | -03° 59’ 09” | 18.74 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 17 | 14h 52m 05s | -04° 06’ 33” | 18.73 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 18 | 14h 54m 24s | -04° 13’ 53” | 18.73 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 19 | 14h 56m 44s | -04° 21’ 09” | 18.72 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 20 | 14h 59m 05s | -04° 28’ 21” | 18.72 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 21 | 15h 01m 27s | -04° 35’ 30” | 18.71 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 22 | 15h 03m 47s | -04° 42’ 33” | 18.70 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 23 | 15h 06m 10s | -04° 49’ 33” | 18.70 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 24 | 15h 08m 31s | -04° 56’ 30” | 18.69 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 25 | 15h 10m 54s | -05° 03’ 21” | 18.69 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 26 | 15h 13m 17s | -05° 10’ 09” | 18.68 | Libra |
| 2019 Oct 27 | 15h 15m 39s | -05° 16’ 50” | 18.68 | Libra |