Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) Position
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is currently in the constellation of Octans. The current Right Ascension is 23h 23m 53s and the Declination is -83° 54’ 58”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) Distance
The distance of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) from Earth is currently 6,498,825,568 kilometers, equivalent to 43.441966 Astronomical Units. Light takes 6 hours, 1 minutes and 17.7487 seconds to travel from Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 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 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 of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) to Earth happens on Mon May 27 2013 at a distance of 34.00597056 Astronomical Units, or 5,087,220,797 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is 25.29.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), 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.
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 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.
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at epoch 14 September 2008 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454724.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99496070 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 89.21708989° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.91741434 AU 137,243,232 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
363.18652635 AU 54,331,931,118 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
182.05197035 AU 27,234,587,175 km |
| Orbital period | period |
2,456.4100 years 897,204.6223 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1997-Mar-30 22:30:30 2,450,538.4378 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 4453-Sep-15 13:26 3,347,743.0602 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 130.66202052642° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 282.9487539424° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 1.6796417864261° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00040125°/day |
Visualization of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 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 Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Mar 21 | 23h 18m 25s | -83° 53’ 21” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 22 | 23h 19m 10s | -83° 53’ 30” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 23 | 23h 19m 55s | -83° 53’ 41” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 24 | 23h 20m 39s | -83° 53’ 53” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 25 | 23h 21m 24s | -83° 54’ 06” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 26 | 23h 22m 09s | -83° 54’ 20” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 27 | 23h 22m 53s | -83° 54’ 35” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 28 | 23h 23m 36s | -83° 54’ 51” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 29 | 23h 24m 20s | -83° 55’ 09” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 30 | 23h 25m 04s | -83° 55’ 27” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Mar 31 | 23h 25m 47s | -83° 55’ 48” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Apr 01 | 23h 26m 30s | -83° 56’ 08” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 23h 27m 14s | -83° 56’ 30” | 25.29 | Octans |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 23h 27m 56s | -83° 56’ 53” | 25.29 | Octans |