Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is currently in the constellation of Auriga. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is 07h 19m 47s and the Declination is +36° 59’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt).

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from Earth?)
• When does Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from Earth is currently 4,077,376,151 kilometers, equivalent to 27.255576 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3 hours, 46 minutes and 40.6629 seconds to travel from Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) 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/2012 S1 (ISON) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) to Earth happens on Fri Dec 27 2013 at a distance of 0.430624 Astronomical Units, or 64,420,498 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) Brightness and Light Curve

Visualization of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) 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!

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Jun 01	07h 18m 42s	+37° 03’ 52”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 02	07h 18m 50s	+37° 03’ 19”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 03	07h 18m 59s	+37° 02’ 44”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 04	07h 19m 06s	+37° 02’ 11”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 05	07h 19m 15s	+37° 01’ 37”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 06	07h 19m 24s	+37° 01’ 05”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 07	07h 19m 33s	+37° 00’ 32”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 08	07h 19m 42s	+37° 00’ 00”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 09	07h 19m 51s	+36° 59’ 27”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 10	07h 20m 00s	+36° 58’ 55”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 11	07h 20m 11s	+36° 58’ 24”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 12	07h 20m 20s	+36° 57’ 54”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 13	07h 20m 29s	+36° 57’ 23”	N.A.	Auriga
2023 Jun 14	07h 20m 39s	+36° 56’ 52”	N.A.	Auriga