Comet Halley (1P/Halley)
Comet Halley (1P/Halley) is in the constellation of
Canis Minoris,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet Halley (1P/Halley) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.


Also check out Where is Comet Halley (1P/Halley)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet Halley (1P/Halley) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
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 Halley (1P/Halley) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 1P/Halley is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-West direction at an altitude of 36.69° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 1P/Halley 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 Halley (1P/Halley) from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) 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 1P/Halley from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) to Earth happens on Sat May 8 2134 at a distance of 0.093428 Astronomical Units, or 13,976,613 kilometers:
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 Halley (1P/Halley), 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.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2439857.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.96794279 |
Orbit inclination | i | 162.18787119° |
Perihelion distance | q | 0.57471580 AU 85,976,260 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
35.28091967 AU 5,277,950,470 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
17.92781774 AU 2,681,963,365 km |
Orbital period | period |
75.9101 years 27,726.1500 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1986-Feb-08 15:34:24 2,446,470.1489 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2062-Jan-06 19:10 2,474,196.2989 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 112.25779200487° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 59.114482936739° |
Mean anomaly | M | 274.14049194984° |
Mean motion | n | 0.01298413°/day |
Orbit Visualization
View Comet Halley (1P/Halley) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) 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 May 08 | 08h 11m 13s | +03° 19’ 10” | 25.60 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 09 | 08h 11m 15s | +03° 19’ 32” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 10 | 08h 11m 17s | +03° 19’ 54” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 11 | 08h 11m 18s | +03° 20’ 16” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 12 | 08h 11m 20s | +03° 20’ 37” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 13 | 08h 11m 23s | +03° 20’ 58” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 14 | 08h 11m 25s | +03° 21’ 18” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 15 | 08h 11m 27s | +03° 21’ 37” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 16 | 08h 11m 29s | +03° 21’ 56” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 17 | 08h 11m 32s | +03° 22’ 13” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 18 | 08h 11m 34s | +03° 22’ 31” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 19 | 08h 11m 37s | +03° 22’ 49” | 25.61 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 20 | 08h 11m 40s | +03° 23’ 06” | 25.62 | Canis Minoris |
2025 May 21 | 08h 11m 43s | +03° 23’ 22” | 25.62 | Canis Minoris |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Comet Halley (1P/Halley): Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com
- Where is Comet Halley (1P/Halley)?: Key information on locating Comet Halley (1P/Halley) in the sky.
- Distance from Earth: Find out how far Comet Halley (1P/Halley) is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Comet Halley (1P/Halley)?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Comet Halley (1P/Halley)'s rise and set times from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of Comet Halley (1P/Halley)'s position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: high precision position tracker with deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Comet Halley (1P/Halley)'s computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: information about Comet Halley (1P/Halley) orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization. 3d interactive visualization showing the orbit of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) with respect to the major Solar System objects.