Comet 4P/Faye
Comet 4P/Faye is a short-period comet that orbits the Sun once every 7.34 years. It was discovered by Hervé Faye on November 23, 1843. The perihelion distance of the comet is about 1.61 AU, while its aphelion distance is approximately 6.03 AU. The orbital period is 7.48 Earth years.
Comet 4P/Faye is currently in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 714,460,544 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 4P/Faye from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 4P/Faye is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Given its current magnitude, 4P/Faye is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 4P/Faye is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 4P/Faye?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 4P/Faye in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 4P/Faye Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 4P/Faye from Earth is currently 714,460,544 kilometers, equivalent to 4.775874 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39 minutes and 43.1838 seconds to travel from Comet 4P/Faye and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 4P/Faye to Earth
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 4P/Faye to Earth happens on Tue Oct 31 2073 at a distance of 0.612694 Astronomical Units, or 91,657,788 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 4P/Faye Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 4P/Faye, 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 4P/Faye Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 4P/Faye at epoch 02 February 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458517.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.58461517 |
Orbit inclination | i | 8.16450383° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.57732485 AU 235,964,439 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
6.01719828 AU 900,160,053 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
3.79726157 AU 568,062,246 km |
Orbital period | period |
7.3997 years 2,702.7396 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Sep-05 15:18:23 2,459,463.1378 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2029-Jan-29 09:03 2,462,165.8773 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 205.97354456806° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 194.83133749617° |
Mean anomaly | M | 234.04276645986° |
Mean motion | n | 0.13319818°/day |
Visualization of Comet 4P/Faye Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 4P/Faye with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 4P/Faye 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 4P/Faye in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 4P/Faye 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 4P/Faye computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 4P/Faye in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 May 01 | 13h 07m 35s | -05° 35’ 02” | 21.42 | Virgo |
2024 May 02 | 13h 07m 05s | -05° 31’ 41” | 21.43 | Virgo |
2024 May 03 | 13h 06m 38s | -05° 28’ 23” | 21.43 | Virgo |
2024 May 04 | 13h 06m 10s | -05° 25’ 09” | 21.44 | Virgo |
2024 May 05 | 13h 05m 42s | -05° 21’ 59” | 21.44 | Virgo |
2024 May 06 | 13h 05m 16s | -05° 18’ 50” | 21.45 | Virgo |
2024 May 07 | 13h 04m 49s | -05° 15’ 45” | 21.46 | Virgo |
2024 May 08 | 13h 04m 23s | -05° 12’ 43” | 21.46 | Virgo |
2024 May 09 | 13h 03m 57s | -05° 09’ 46” | 21.47 | Virgo |
2024 May 10 | 13h 03m 33s | -05° 06’ 51” | 21.47 | Virgo |
2024 May 11 | 13h 03m 07s | -05° 04’ 00” | 21.48 | Virgo |
2024 May 12 | 13h 02m 44s | -05° 01’ 11” | 21.49 | Virgo |
2024 May 13 | 13h 02m 21s | -04° 58’ 27” | 21.49 | Virgo |
2024 May 14 | 13h 01m 58s | -04° 55’ 47” | 21.50 | Virgo |