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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:24
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Comets » 

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell

Altitude: -63.8°   Azimuth: 50.6°   Direction: North-East

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 811,277,600 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 52P/Harrington-Abell in Sagittarius on March,28 2024
Map showing Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in Sagittarius on March, 28 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is 19h 04m 39s and the Declination is -31° 50’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is 27.30 (JPL).

19h 04m 39s
-31° 50’ 44”
Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
27.30

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 52P/Harrington-Abell from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 121.8°
Max altitude: 6.7°
Azimuth: 238.2°
  • 52P/Harrington-Abell is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 52P/Harrington-Abell
Map showing Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in Sagittarius on March, 28 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

52P/Harrington-Abell
RA: 19h 04m 39s
Dec: -31° 50’ 44”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is currently 811,277,600 kilometers, equivalent to 5.423056 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 6.1308 seconds to travel from Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell and arrive to us.

811,277,600
5.423056
45 minutes and 6.1308 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell to Earth happens on Thu Jan 29 2037 at a distance of 0.878538 Astronomical Units, or 131,427,355 kilometers:

Thu Jan 29 2037
131,427,355
0.878538

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

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell, 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 52P/Harrington-Abell as a function of time

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell at epoch 21 June 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457561.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.54006288
Orbit inclination i 10.23173068°
Perihelion distance q 1.77497832 AU
265,532,977 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.94337371 AU
889,116,054 km
Semi-major axis a 3.85917601 AU
577,324,516 km
Orbital period period 7.5814 years
2,769.1106 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2014-Mar-07 08:46:57
2,456,723.8659 JD
Next perihelion transit 2021-Oct-05 11:26
2,459,492.9766 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 139.65914883566°
Longitude of the ascending node node 336.83612096879°
Mean anomaly M 108.89715151903°
Mean motion n 0.13000564°/day

Visualization of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 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 52P/Harrington-Abell
View Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 52P/Harrington-Abell in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 21 19h 01m 36s -31° 44’ 29” 27.32 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 22 19h 02m 02s -31° 45’ 11” 27.32 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 23 19h 02m 27s -31° 45’ 56” 27.31 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 24 19h 02m 52s -31° 46’ 41” 27.31 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 25 19h 03m 15s -31° 47’ 29” 27.31 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 26 19h 03m 38s -31° 48’ 16” 27.31 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 27 19h 04m 00s -31° 49’ 08” 27.30 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 28 19h 04m 23s -31° 49’ 59” 27.30 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 29 19h 04m 42s -31° 50’ 52” 27.30 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 30 19h 05m 03s -31° 51’ 47” 27.30 Sagittarius
2024 Mar 31 19h 05m 22s -31° 52’ 42” 27.29 Sagittarius
2024 Apr 01 19h 05m 40s -31° 53’ 39” 27.29 Sagittarius
2024 Apr 02 19h 05m 58s -31° 54’ 38” 27.29 Sagittarius
2024 Apr 03 19h 06m 15s -31° 55’ 40” 27.28 Sagittarius