Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)
Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) is in the constellation of
Aquarius,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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 Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from Lexington-Fayette, United States (all times relative to the local timezone America/New_York):
- C/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet) is above the horizon from Lexington-Fayette, United States.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 20.79° above the horizon.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Distance from Earth
The distance of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) to Earth happens on Mon Aug 12 2013 at a distance of 88.311242 Astronomical Units, or 13,211,173,795 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) at epoch 01 January 1970 00:00 UTC (JD: 2432538.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99984292 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 138.51137649° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.11000471 AU 16,456,470 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
1,400.47396976 AU 209,507,924,267 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
700.29198723 AU 104,762,190,368 km |
| Orbital period | period |
18,532.1983 years 6,768,885.4193 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1947-Dec-02 14:04:30 2,432,522.0865 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 20480-Jun-30 00:08 9,201,407.5058 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 196.18205692517° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 337.31152850504° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 0.00087294596831845° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00005318°/day |
View Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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 Jun 14 | 21h 51m 38s | -04° 06’ 54” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 15 | 21h 51m 37s | -04° 06’ 54” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 16 | 21h 51m 36s | -04° 06’ 55” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 17 | 21h 51m 35s | -04° 06’ 56” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 18 | 21h 51m 34s | -04° 06’ 57” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 19 | 21h 51m 32s | -04° 06’ 59” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 20 | 21h 51m 31s | -04° 07’ 00” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 21 | 21h 51m 30s | -04° 07’ 02” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 22 | 21h 51m 29s | -04° 07’ 04” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 23 | 21h 51m 27s | -04° 07’ 07” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 24 | 21h 51m 26s | -04° 07’ 09” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 25 | 21h 51m 25s | -04° 07’ 12” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 26 | 21h 51m 23s | -04° 07’ 15” | N.A. | Aquarius |
| 2025 Jun 27 | 21h 51m 22s | -04° 07’ 18” | N.A. | Aquarius |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A): Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)?: Key information on where to find Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in the sky.
- Distance of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from Earth: Find out how far Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)'s position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)'s position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)'s computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) with respect to the major Solar System objects.