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Comets » 

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -44.97°   Az: 181.35°   Direction: South

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is in the constellation of Octans, at a distance of 7,422,011,101.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 22h 19m 16s and the Declination is -83° 25’ 33” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is 20.05 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in Octans on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in Octans on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
RA: 22h 15m 51s
Dec: -83° 33’ 07”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

22h 19m 16s
-83° 25’ 33”
00h 33m 30s
22h 52m 46s

J2000

22h 15m 51s
-83° 33’ 07”

Additional Information

Octans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.05

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 Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is not visible from Greenwich, UK

  • C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) from Earth is currently 7,422,011,101.0 kilometers, equivalent to 49.6130798271 Astronomical Units. Light takes 6h 52m 37.164s to travel from Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) and arrive to us.

7,422,011,101.0
49.6130798271
6h 52m 37.164s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) 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 Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) 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 C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) to Earth happens on Mon May 27 2013 at a distance of 34.005886 Astronomical Units, or 5,087,208,201 kilometers:

Mon May 27 2013
5,087,208,201
34.005886

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 Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1), 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 Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) at epoch 14 September 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459837.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99498100
Orbit inclination i 89.28759425°
Perihelion distance q 0.89053766 AU
133,222,539 km
Aphelion distance Q 353.97623016 AU
52,954,090,417 km
Semi-major axis a 177.43338391 AU
26,543,656,478 km
Orbital period period 2,363.5305 years
863,279.5035 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 1997-Mar-29 15:14:15
2,450,537.1349 JD
Next perihelion transit 4360-Oct-27 03:19
3,313,816.6384 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 130.41466706592°
Longitude of the ascending node node 282.73342139616°
Mean anomaly M 3.8783863394232°
Mean motion n 0.00041701°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)
View Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) 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 03 22h 14m 32s -83° 28’ 47” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 04 22h 15m 09s -83° 28’ 19” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 05 22h 15m 47s -83° 27’ 51” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 06 22h 16m 24s -83° 27’ 24” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 07 22h 17m 02s -83° 26’ 58” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 08 22h 17m 39s -83° 26’ 33” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 09 22h 18m 17s -83° 26’ 09” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 10 22h 18m 54s -83° 25’ 46” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 11 22h 19m 32s -83° 25’ 23” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 12 22h 20m 10s -83° 25’ 03” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 13 22h 20m 48s -83° 24’ 42” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 14 22h 21m 25s -83° 24’ 24” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 15 22h 22m 03s -83° 24’ 05” 20.05 Octans
2025 Feb 16 22h 22m 41s -83° 23’ 48” 20.05 Octans

Additional Resources