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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:41  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:26
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 40P/Vaisala

Altitude: 11.0°   Azimuth: 92.3°   Direction: East

Comet 40P/Vaisala is currently in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 847,155,251 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on March,29 2024
Map showing Comet 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on March, 29 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 40P/Vaisala is 03h 03m 43s and the Declination is +07° 09’ 10” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 40P/Vaisala is 24.45 (JPL).

03h 03m 43s
+07° 09’ 10”
Cetus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
24.45

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 40P/Vaisala from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 82.9°
Max altitude: 45.7°
Azimuth: 277.2°
  • 40P/Vaisala is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 11° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 40P/Vaisala 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.

Additional Resources

Comet 40P/Vaisala Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 40P/Vaisala
Map showing Comet 40P/Vaisala in Cetus on March, 29 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 40P/Vaisala is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

40P/Vaisala
RA: 03h 03m 43s
Dec: +07° 09’ 10”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 40P/Vaisala
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 40P/Vaisala?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 40P/Vaisala in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 40P/Vaisala Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala from Earth is currently 847,155,251 kilometers, equivalent to 5.662883 Astronomical Units. Light takes 47 minutes and 5.8057 seconds to travel from Comet 40P/Vaisala and arrive to us.

847,155,251
5.662883
47 minutes and 5.8057 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 40P/Vaisala to Earth happens on Mon Mar 24 2070 at a distance of 0.879460 Astronomical Units, or 131,565,362 kilometers:

Mon Mar 24 2070
131,565,362
0.879460

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

Comet 40P/Vaisala Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 40P/Vaisala, 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 40P/Vaisala as a function of time

Comet 40P/Vaisala Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 40P/Vaisala at epoch 27 August 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457262.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.63161520
Orbit inclination i 11.49264282°
Perihelion distance q 1.81977116 AU
272,233,891 km
Aphelion distance Q 8.05995877 AU
1,205,752,672 km
Semi-major axis a 4.93986496 AU
738,993,281 km
Orbital period period 10.9795 years
4,010.2463 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Nov-15 20:12:59
2,456,977.3424 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Nov-08 02:07
2,460,987.5886 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 47.288855021729°
Longitude of the ascending node node 133.84016785708°
Mean anomaly M 25.598615967354°
Mean motion n 0.08977005°/day

Visualization of Comet 40P/Vaisala Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 40P/Vaisala with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 40P/Vaisala 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 40P/Vaisala
View Comet 40P/Vaisala in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 40P/Vaisala 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 40P/Vaisala computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 40P/Vaisala in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 22 02h 58m 35s +06° 36’ 25” 24.48 Cetus
2024 Mar 23 02h 59m 16s +06° 40’ 53” 24.48 Cetus
2024 Mar 24 02h 59m 57s +06° 45’ 19” 24.47 Cetus
2024 Mar 25 03h 00m 38s +06° 49’ 45” 24.47 Cetus
2024 Mar 26 03h 01m 19s +06° 54’ 11” 24.47 Cetus
2024 Mar 27 03h 02m 02s +06° 58’ 39” 24.46 Cetus
2024 Mar 28 03h 02m 44s +07° 03’ 05” 24.46 Cetus
2024 Mar 29 03h 03m 27s +07° 07’ 31” 24.45 Cetus
2024 Mar 30 03h 04m 10s +07° 11’ 56” 24.45 Cetus
2024 Mar 31 03h 04m 54s +07° 16’ 22” 24.45 Cetus
2024 Apr 01 03h 05m 38s +07° 20’ 47” 24.44 Cetus
2024 Apr 02 03h 06m 23s +07° 25’ 10” 24.44 Cetus
2024 Apr 03 03h 07m 06s +07° 29’ 35” 24.43 Cetus
2024 Apr 04 03h 07m 53s +07° 34’ 00” 24.43 Cetus