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Comet 22P/Kopff

Above the horizon.  Rise: 4:41 | Tran: 12:35 | Set: 20:30
Alt: 15.57°   Az: 75.27°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet 22P/Kopff is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 944,817,571.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 07h 17m 55s and the Declination is +21° 15’ 23” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 22P/Kopff, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 22.97.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 22P/Kopff in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 22P/Kopff against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

22P/Kopff
RA: 07h 16m 24s
Dec: +21° 18’ 12”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 22P/Kopff. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

07h 17m 55s
+21° 15’ 23”
17h 53m 59s
01h 11m 54s

J2000

07h 16m 24s
+21° 18’ 12”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
22.97

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 22P/Kopff from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 68.7°
Max altitude: 59.8°
Azimuth: 291.2°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth is currently 944,817,571.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.3157153680 Astronomical Units. Light takes 52m 31.572s to travel from comet 22P/Kopff and arrive to us.

944,817,571.0
6.3157153680
52m 31.572s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 22P/Kopff from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 22P/Kopff from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 22P/Kopff to Earth will happen on Monday 25 July 2095 at a distance of 0.224579 Astronomical Units, or 33,596,540 kilometers:

Monday 25 July 2095
33,596,540
0.224579

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 22P/Kopff, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 22P/Kopff as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 22P/Kopff at epoch February, 25 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458540.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.54861713
Orbit inclination i 4.73986877°
Perihelion distance q 1.55475742 AU
232,588,400 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.33410578 AU
797,970,868 km
Semi-major axis a 3.44443160 AU
515,279,634 km
Orbital period period 6.3927 years
2,334.9349 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp March 17, 2022
2,459,656.3895 JD
Next perihelion transit August 7, 2028
2,461,991.3244 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 162.91261517187°
Longitude of the ascending node node 120.83554854268°
Mean anomaly M 187.95227518762°
Mean motion n 0.15417989°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 22P/Kopff relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 22P/Kopff computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jul 10 2025 07h 11m 50s +21° 24’ 49” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 11 2025 07h 12m 40s +21° 23’ 34” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 12 2025 07h 13m 31s +21° 22’ 19” 22.98 Gemini
Jul 13 2025 07h 14m 22s +21° 21’ 01” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 14 2025 07h 15m 12s +21° 19’ 43” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 15 2025 07h 16m 03s +21° 18’ 24” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 16 2025 07h 16m 54s +21° 17’ 04” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 17 2025 07h 17m 44s +21° 15’ 42” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 18 2025 07h 18m 35s +21° 14’ 20” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 19 2025 07h 19m 25s +21° 12’ 56” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 20 2025 07h 20m 15s +21° 11’ 32” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 21 2025 07h 21m 06s +21° 10’ 07” 22.97 Gemini
Jul 22 2025 07h 21m 56s +21° 08’ 40” 22.96 Gemini
Jul 23 2025 07h 22m 45s +21° 07’ 13” 22.96 Gemini

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