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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:24
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)

Altitude: 12.8°   Azimuth: 287.5°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is currently in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 1,304,940,150 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on March,28 2024
Map showing Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on March, 28 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is 02h 29m 09s and the Declination is +20° 51’ 05” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is 23.25 (JPL).

02h 29m 09s
+20° 51’ 05”
Aries
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
23.25

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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 69.2°
Max altitude: 59.4°
Azimuth: 290.9°
  • C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the West-North-West direction at an altitude of 13° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
Map showing Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in Aries on March, 28 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
RA: 02h 29m 09s
Dec: +20° 51’ 05”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Earth is currently 1,304,940,150 kilometers, equivalent to 8.722986 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 12 minutes and 32.8118 seconds to travel from Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) and arrive to us.

1,304,940,150
8.722986
1 hours, 12 minutes and 32.8118 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) to Earth happens on Mon Aug 30 2021 at a distance of 4.716139 Astronomical Units, or 705,524,329 kilometers:

Mon Aug 30 2021
705,524,329
4.716139

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

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo), 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) as a function of time

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) at epoch 07 July 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459038.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.64417804
Orbit inclination i 6.55358988°
Perihelion distance q 5.70727373 AU
853,795,999 km
Aphelion distance Q 26.37210512 AU
3,945,210,780 km
Semi-major axis a 16.03968942 AU
2,399,503,389 km
Orbital period period 64.2395 years
23,463.4764 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-May-16 01:53:09
2,459,350.5786 JD
Next perihelion transit 2085-Aug-11 13:19
2,482,814.0550 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 2.6682622801302°
Longitude of the ascending node node 326.85924046635°
Mean anomaly M 355.21177990559°
Mean motion n 0.01534299°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 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 C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)
View Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 21 02h 24m 47s +20° 33’ 11” 23.21 Aries
2024 Mar 22 02h 25m 20s +20° 35’ 23” 23.22 Aries
2024 Mar 23 02h 25m 53s +20° 37’ 37” 23.22 Aries
2024 Mar 24 02h 26m 26s +20° 39’ 53” 23.23 Aries
2024 Mar 25 02h 27m 00s +20° 42’ 10” 23.23 Aries
2024 Mar 26 02h 27m 33s +20° 44’ 27” 23.23 Aries
2024 Mar 27 02h 28m 06s +20° 46’ 45” 23.24 Aries
2024 Mar 28 02h 28m 41s +20° 49’ 05” 23.24 Aries
2024 Mar 29 02h 29m 14s +20° 51’ 27” 23.25 Aries
2024 Mar 30 02h 29m 48s +20° 53’ 48” 23.25 Aries
2024 Mar 31 02h 30m 23s +20° 56’ 11” 23.25 Aries
2024 Apr 01 02h 30m 57s +20° 58’ 33” 23.26 Aries
2024 Apr 02 02h 31m 32s +21° 00’ 57” 23.26 Aries
2024 Apr 03 02h 32m 07s +21° 03’ 23” 23.27 Aries