Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a Halley-type periodic comet that was first discovered by Jean-Louis Pons on July 12, 1812 and then independently rediscovered by William Robert Brooks in 1883. It has an orbital period of about 71.3 years. During its closest approach to the Sun, or perihelion, the comet comes within about 0.78 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun, while at its furthest point, or aphelion, it is located at a distance of about 17.2 AU. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is also known for being the probable parent body causing the κ-Draconids meteor shower. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its return in 2024 and it is expected to reach its maximum brightness (potentially visible to the naked eye) during the month of April. With its closest approach occurring just a few days before a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, it presents a unique opportunity for skywatchers to potentially view the comet during the eclipse. However, since the comet's brightness can be unpredictable, there is no guarantee it will be visible, and viewers may need to use binoculars or telescopes to see it. Nevertheless, with the combination of a total solar eclipse and a potentially bright comet passing by, this astronomical event is not to be missed.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 239,128,774 kilometers from Earth.
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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 12P/Pons-Brooks from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 12P/Pons-Brooks is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Given its current magnitude, 12P/Pons-Brooks is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks from Earth is currently 239,128,774 kilometers, equivalent to 1.598477 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 17.6477 seconds to travel from Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 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 12P/Pons-Brooks from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks to Earth
Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks to Earth happens on Wed Aug 31 2095 at a distance of 1.498788 Astronomical Units, or 224,215,507 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, 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.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks at epoch 13 September 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460201.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.95456023 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 74.19083929° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.78086475 AU 116,815,704 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
33.58835604 AU 5,024,746,554 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
17.18461040 AU 2,570,781,129 km |
| Orbital period | period |
71.2390 years 26,020.0402 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2024-Apr-21 03:09:29 2,460,421.6316 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2095-Jul-18 04:07 2,486,441.6717 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 198.98800614657° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 255.85505059528° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 356.95437162814° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.01383549°/day |
Visualization of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 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!
View Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 20 | 03h 24m 06s | +10° 37’ 45” | 4.42 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 03h 27m 38s | +09° 55’ 35” | 4.42 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 03h 31m 10s | +09° 13’ 14” | 4.42 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 03h 34m 40s | +08° 30’ 47” | 4.42 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 03h 38m 08s | +07° 48’ 14” | 4.43 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 03h 41m 35s | +07° 05’ 35” | 4.44 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 26 | 03h 45m 00s | +06° 22’ 51” | 4.46 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 03h 48m 24s | +05° 40’ 05” | 4.47 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 03h 51m 46s | +04° 57’ 16” | 4.50 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 03h 55m 06s | +04° 14’ 27” | 4.52 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 03h 58m 27s | +03° 31’ 37” | 4.55 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 01 | 04h 01m 46s | +02° 48’ 47” | 4.58 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 02 | 04h 05m 05s | +02° 06’ 00” | 4.62 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 03 | 04h 08m 23s | +01° 23’ 12” | 4.66 | Taurus |