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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO)

Altitude: -28.1°   Azimuth: 68.3°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is currently in the constellation of Scutum. The current Right Ascension of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is 18h 36m 18s and the Declination is -09° 33’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is 34.79 (JPL).

18h 36m 18s
-09° 33’ 47”
Scutum
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
34.79

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 99.6°
Max altitude: 28.9°
Azimuth: 260.4°
  • P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 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.

Available Resources

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in Scutum on October,04 2023
Map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in Scutum on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
Map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in Scutum on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
RA: 18h 36m 18s
Dec: -09° 33’ 47”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) from Earth is currently 733,608,196 kilometers, equivalent to 4.903868 Astronomical Units. Light takes 40 minutes and 47.0535 seconds to travel from Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) and arrive to us.

733,608,196
4.903868
40 minutes and 47.0535 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) to Earth happens on Thu Nov 17 2072 at a distance of 0.350467 Astronomical Units, or 52,429,088 kilometers:

Thu Nov 17 2072
52,429,088
0.350467

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

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO), 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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO) as a function of time

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) at epoch 13 January 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459228.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.81169143
Orbit inclination i 23.38406036°
Perihelion distance q 0.52636420 AU
78,742,963 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.06407920 AU
757,575,466 km
Semi-major axis a 2.79522170 AU
418,159,215 km
Orbital period period 4.6734 years
1,706.9579 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Jan-25 09:16:09
2,459,239.8862 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Sep-28 08:15
2,460,946.8441 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 210.73647687976°
Longitude of the ascending node node 257.78860525607°
Mean anomaly M 357.59862813385°
Mean motion n 0.21090151°/day

Visualization of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
View Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 27 18h 35m 21s -09° 19’ 59” 34.76 Scutum
2023 Sep 28 18h 35m 26s -09° 21’ 56” 34.77 Scutum
2023 Sep 29 18h 35m 33s -09° 23’ 51” 34.77 Scutum
2023 Sep 30 18h 35m 39s -09° 25’ 44” 34.78 Scutum
2023 Oct 01 18h 35m 47s -09° 27’ 36” 34.78 Scutum
2023 Oct 02 18h 35m 54s -09° 29’ 26” 34.79 Scutum
2023 Oct 03 18h 36m 03s -09° 31’ 15” 34.79 Scutum
2023 Oct 04 18h 36m 14s -09° 33’ 03” 34.79 Scutum
2023 Oct 05 18h 36m 24s -09° 34’ 50” 34.80 Scutum
2023 Oct 06 18h 36m 34s -09° 36’ 34” 34.80 Scutum
2023 Oct 07 18h 36m 47s -09° 38’ 18” 34.81 Scutum
2023 Oct 08 18h 37m 00s -09° 40’ 00” 34.81 Scutum
2023 Oct 09 18h 37m 14s -09° 41’ 39” 34.82 Scutum
2023 Oct 10 18h 37m 27s -09° 43’ 18” 34.82 Scutum