Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is a short-period comet with an orbital period of 6.3 years. It was first discovered by Jean-Louis Pons on 12 June 1819 and rediscovered later by Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke on 9 March 1858. The comet has a perihelion distance of about 1.2 astronomical units and an aphelion distance of about 5.6 astronomical units.
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 959,745,750 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 7P/Pons-Winnecke is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Right now it is placed in the East-North-East direction at an altitude of 7° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 7P/Pons-Winnecke is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Earth is currently 959,745,750 kilometers, equivalent to 6.415504 Astronomical Units. Light takes 53 minutes and 21.3672 seconds to travel from Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke to Earth
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke to Earth happens on Mon Jun 27 1927 at a distance of 0.039404 Astronomical Units, or 5,894,775 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke at epoch 24 April 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457137.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.63757124 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.33463826° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.23919869 AU 185,381,486 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.59910354 AU 837,613,969 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.41915111 AU 511,497,727 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.3225 years 2,309.2761 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2015-Jan-30 12:39:34 2,457,053.0275 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-May-27 19:17 2,459,362.3036 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 172.50553360981° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 93.415610189417° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 13.168673787644° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15589301°/day |
Visualization of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 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 7P/Pons-Winnecke in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 01 | 05h 04m 42s | +19° 08’ 51” | 23.37 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 02 | 05h 05m 22s | +19° 10’ 59” | 23.37 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 03 | 05h 06m 03s | +19° 13’ 05” | 23.37 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 04 | 05h 06m 43s | +19° 15’ 11” | 23.38 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 05 | 05h 07m 24s | +19° 17’ 17” | 23.38 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 06 | 05h 08m 07s | +19° 19’ 22” | 23.39 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 07 | 05h 08m 48s | +19° 21’ 24” | 23.39 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 08 | 05h 09m 29s | +19° 23’ 26” | 23.39 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 09 | 05h 10m 11s | +19° 25’ 27” | 23.39 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 10 | 05h 10m 54s | +19° 27’ 28” | 23.40 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 11 | 05h 11m 35s | +19° 29’ 26” | 23.40 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 12 | 05h 12m 19s | +19° 31’ 24” | 23.40 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 13 | 05h 13m 01s | +19° 33’ 21” | 23.41 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 14 | 05h 13m 45s | +19° 35’ 17” | 23.41 | Taurus |