107P/Wilson-Harrington
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach20 Jul 202211.41.079 AU0.402 AU01h41m+16°58'87.9°70.2°249°
Perihelion24 Aug 202211.60.968 AU0.535 AU05h20m+28°10'69.9°78.8°268°
Today19 Apr 202421.94.129 AU3.412 AU10h39m+04°52'129.9°10.8°109°
107P/Wilson-Harrington- 2024-04-19
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of 107P/Wilson-Harrington are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6313890
            q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.9677100
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.79860
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 266.74750
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 95.49930
            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 182.25333
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.78571
            T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459816.07920
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.25

            Epoch                           : 2024 Apr 18
            Reference                       : MPEC 2015-M77

            Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Encke type; Active asteroid
            Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 3.082
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC. The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (18.50 + 5 log[∆] + 10.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 13.09 + 5 log[∆] + 10.00 log[r]).


The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.





The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.


The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.


A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.



Ephemerides:
Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   10 39 23.9   +04 51 36     3.406    4.128  130.4   10.7   109   21.9 
2024-04-19 10:27 UT   10 39 14.9   +04 52 50     3.412    4.129  129.9   10.8   109   21.9 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   10 39 03.5   +04 54 24     3.420    4.130  129.3   10.8   109   21.9 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   10 38 44.2   +04 57 06     3.434    4.132  128.2   11.0   109   21.9 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   10 38 25.8   +04 59 42     3.448    4.134  127.2   11.2   109   21.9 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   10 38 08.4   +05 02 12     3.462    4.135  126.1   11.3   109   21.9 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   10 37 52.0   +05 04 37     3.476    4.137  125.1   11.5   110   22.0 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   10 37 36.7   +05 06 56     3.491    4.139  124.0   11.6   110   22.0 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   10 37 22.3   +05 09 08     3.506    4.141  123.0   11.8   110   22.0 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   10 37 09.0   +05 11 15     3.521    4.142  122.0   11.9   110   22.0 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   10 36 56.6   +05 13 16     3.536    4.144  120.9   12.0   110   22.0 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   10 36 45.3   +05 15 12     3.551    4.146  119.9   12.2   110   22.0 


    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km      
    

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.