Comet 51P/Harrington
Comet 51P/Harrington is in the constellation of
Leo,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 51P/Harrington is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 51P/Harrington?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 51P/Harrington in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
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
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 51P/Harrington from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 51P/Harrington is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 53.49° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 51P/Harrington is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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 51P/Harrington from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 51P/Harrington 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 51P/Harrington from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 51P/Harrington to Earth happens on Mon Sep 5 2022 at a distance of 0.719952 Astronomical Units, or 107,703,271 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 51P/Harrington, 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.
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 51P/Harrington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Apr 05 | 09h 58m 04s | +18° 37’ 21” | 26.03 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 06 | 09h 57m 46s | +18° 38’ 01” | 26.04 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 07 | 09h 57m 29s | +18° 38’ 36” | 26.04 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 08 | 09h 57m 13s | +18° 39’ 07” | 26.05 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 09 | 09h 56m 58s | +18° 39’ 33” | 26.06 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 10 | 09h 56m 43s | +18° 39’ 55” | 26.07 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 11 | 09h 56m 29s | +18° 40’ 12” | 26.07 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 12 | 09h 56m 16s | +18° 40’ 25” | 26.08 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 13 | 09h 56m 03s | +18° 40’ 34” | 26.09 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 14 | 09h 55m 52s | +18° 40’ 38” | 26.10 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 15 | 09h 55m 41s | +18° 40’ 37” | 26.11 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 16 | 09h 55m 31s | +18° 40’ 33” | 26.11 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 17 | 09h 55m 22s | +18° 40’ 24” | 26.12 | Leo |
| 2025 Apr 18 | 09h 55m 13s | +18° 40’ 11” | 26.13 | Leo |
Additional Resources
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 51P/Harrington?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 51P/Harrington from Earth?)
- When does Comet 51P/Harrington rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 51P/Harrington?)
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 51P/Harrington for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 51P/Harrington in the sky from your location.
- Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 51P/Harrington with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.