Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is currently in the constellation of Lynx.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is 07h 31m 45s and the Declination is +37° 33’ 09” (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):

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.

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 3,974,621,908 kilometers, equivalent to 26.568706 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3 hours, 40 minutes and 57.9116 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 Nov 29	07h 32m 52s	+37° 28’ 06”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Nov 30	07h 32m 44s	+37° 28’ 45”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 01	07h 32m 35s	+37° 29’ 25”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 02	07h 32m 26s	+37° 30’ 03”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 03	07h 32m 18s	+37° 30’ 42”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 04	07h 32m 09s	+37° 31’ 21”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 05	07h 32m 02s	+37° 31’ 59”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 06	07h 31m 53s	+37° 32’ 36”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 07	07h 31m 44s	+37° 33’ 14”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 08	07h 31m 33s	+37° 33’ 51”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 09	07h 31m 24s	+37° 34’ 27”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 10	07h 31m 15s	+37° 35’ 03”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 11	07h 31m 05s	+37° 35’ 39”	N.A.	Lynx
2023 Dec 12	07h 30m 56s	+37° 36’ 15”	N.A.	Lynx