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Comets » 

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 5:39 | Tran: 11:40 | Set: 17:42
Alt: 2.68°   Az: 92.39°   Direction: East

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is in the constellation of Aquarius, at a distance of 581,282,299.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 21h 15m 28s and the Declination is +00° 36’ 25” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is 35.49 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in Aquarius on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in Aquarius on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
RA: 21h 14m 11s
Dec: +00° 30’ 07”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

21h 15m 28s
+00° 36’ 25”
18h 14m 08s
15h 29m 37s

J2000

21h 14m 11s
+00° 30’ 07”

Additional Information

Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
35.49

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 89.4°
Max altitude: 39.2°
Azimuth: 270.7°
  • P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 2.68° above the horizon.
  • 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) from Earth is currently 581,282,299.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.8856321703 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32m 18.949s to travel from Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) and arrive to us.

581,282,299.0
3.8856321703
32m 18.949s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) 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 = 2021 A3) 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

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) to Earth happens on Thu Nov 17 2072 at a distance of 0.350462 Astronomical Units, or 52,428,374 kilometers:

Thu Nov 17 2072
52,428,374
0.350462

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3), 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 = 2021 A3) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) at epoch 14 January 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459229.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.81169171
Orbit inclination i 23.38407787°
Perihelion distance q 0.52636423 AU
78,742,969 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.06408784 AU
757,576,760 km
Semi-major axis a 2.79522604 AU
418,159,864 km
Orbital period period 4.6734 years
1,706.9619 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Jan-25 09:16:09
2,459,239.8862 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Sep-28 08:21
2,460,946.8481 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 210.73647174322°
Longitude of the ascending node node 257.78860103944°
Mean anomaly M 357.80953551241°
Mean motion n 0.21090102°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)
View Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) 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 Feb 06 21h 06m 14s -00° 10’ 33” 35.78 Aquarius
2025 Feb 07 21h 07m 30s -00° 04’ 21” 35.74 Aquarius
2025 Feb 08 21h 08m 46s +00° 01’ 56” 35.70 Aquarius
2025 Feb 09 21h 10m 02s +00° 08’ 18” 35.66 Aquarius
2025 Feb 10 21h 11m 19s +00° 14’ 47” 35.62 Aquarius
2025 Feb 11 21h 12m 35s +00° 21’ 20” 35.58 Aquarius
2025 Feb 12 21h 13m 52s +00° 28’ 00” 35.54 Aquarius
2025 Feb 13 21h 15m 09s +00° 34’ 45” 35.50 Aquarius
2025 Feb 14 21h 16m 27s +00° 41’ 34” 35.46 Aquarius
2025 Feb 15 21h 17m 44s +00° 48’ 29” 35.42 Aquarius
2025 Feb 16 21h 19m 02s +00° 55’ 30” 35.38 Aquarius
2025 Feb 17 21h 20m 19s +01° 02’ 37” 35.34 Aquarius
2025 Feb 18 21h 21m 37s +01° 09’ 49” 35.30 Aquarius
2025 Feb 19 21h 22m 55s +01° 17’ 07” 35.25 Aquarius

Additional Resources