Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:45  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 21:09 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)

Altitude: 33.9°   Azimuth: 189.4°   Direction: South

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) is 21h 50m 35s and the Declination is -04° 14’ 42” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt).

21h 50m 35s
-04° 14’ 42”
Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
-

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 Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 94.2°
Max altitude: 34.3°
Azimuth: 265.8°
  • C/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South direction at an altitude of 34° above the horizon.
  • 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

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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 C/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet) in Aquarius on June,06 2023
Map showing Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in Aquarius on June, 06 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet)
Map showing Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in Aquarius on June, 06 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher 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.

C/1947 X1-A (Southern Comet)
RA: 21h 50m 35s
Dec: -04° 14’ 42”
Deep sky finder chart for Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) Distance from Earth

The distance of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) from Earth is currently 14,583,621,107 kilometers, equivalent to 97.485486 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 hours, 30 minutes and 45.7238 seconds to travel from Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) and arrive to us.

14,583,621,107
97.485486
13 hours, 30 minutes and 45.7238 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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 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 of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) to Earth

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:

Mon Aug 12 2013
13,211,173,795
88.311242

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

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) Brightness and Light Curve

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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

Visualization of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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 Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A)
View Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Southern Comet (C/1947 X1-A) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 May 30 21h 50m 40s -04° 14’ 58” N.A. Aquarius
2023 May 31 21h 50m 39s -04° 14’ 56” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 01 21h 50m 39s -04° 14’ 53” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 02 21h 50m 39s -04° 14’ 50” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 03 21h 50m 38s -04° 14’ 48” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 04 21h 50m 38s -04° 14’ 47” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 05 21h 50m 36s -04° 14’ 44” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 06 21h 50m 35s -04° 14’ 43” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 07 21h 50m 35s -04° 14’ 42” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 08 21h 50m 35s -04° 14’ 40” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 09 21h 50m 34s -04° 14’ 39” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 10 21h 50m 33s -04° 14’ 39” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 11 21h 50m 31s -04° 14’ 39” N.A. Aquarius
2023 Jun 12 21h 50m 30s -04° 14’ 39” N.A. Aquarius