64P/Swift-Gehrels
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	10 Feb 2026	33.9	5.841 AU	6.177 AU	16h55m	-29°24'	65.7°	8.9°	273°
Nearest approach	6 Aug 2027	22.1	2.860 AU	1.947 AU	18h49m	-24°45'	148.2°	10.8°	82°
Perihelion	31 Mar 2028	13.0	1.388 AU	2.319 AU	01h28m	+14°59'	16.2°	11.6°	50°

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.)

Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 6.9 + 5 log[∆] + 30.0 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)

Charts

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.

Orbital elements

The orbital elements of 64P/Swift-Gehrels are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6882190
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3881560
    i (Inclination)                 : 8.95490
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 299.76170
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 97.34110
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 217.19238
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.88090
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461861.78400
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 9.39

    Epoch                           : 2026 Feb 09
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-W75

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.494

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   16 54 38.6   -29 22 31     6.206    5.847   64.4    8.7   273   33.9 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   16 55 10.2   -29 24 02     6.188    5.843   65.2    8.8   273   33.9 
2026-02-10 13:03 UT   16 55 27.2   -29 24 51     6.177    5.841   65.7    8.9   273   33.9 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   16 55 41.4   -29 25 32     6.169    5.839   66.1    8.9   273   33.9 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   16 56 12.0   -29 27 01     6.150    5.836   67.0    9.0   273   33.9 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   16 56 42.1   -29 28 30     6.131    5.832   67.9    9.0   273   33.9 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   16 57 11.7   -29 29 59     6.112    5.828   68.8    9.1   274   33.8 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   16 57 40.7   -29 31 27     6.093    5.824   69.7    9.2   274   33.8 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   16 58 09.3   -29 32 55     6.073    5.820   70.6    9.2   274   33.8 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   16 58 37.2   -29 34 22     6.054    5.816   71.5    9.3   274   33.8 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   16 59 04.6   -29 35 49     6.035    5.813   72.4    9.3   274   33.8 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   16 59 31.5   -29 37 16     6.015    5.809   73.3    9.4   274   33.8 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   16 59 57.8   -29 38 42     5.996    5.805   74.2    9.4   274   33.7 

    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.