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public LocationGreenwich, UK
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:21 
Transit: 13:06 
Sunset: 20:50
wb_twilight   (Astronomical Twilight)   What's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 18:18 | Tran: 0:31 | Set: 6:49
Alt: 28.91°   Az: 233.45°   Direction: South-West

Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is in the constellation of Aquila, at a distance of 478,581,639.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 20h 04m 32s and the Declination is +03° 04’ 14” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is 32.13 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder chart of P/2016 J3 (STEREO) in Aquila on July,29 2024
Map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in Aquila on July, 29 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

20h 04m 32s
+03° 04’ 14”
02h 59m 04s
23h 03m 37s

J2000

20h 03m 18s
+03° 00’ 01”

Additional Information

Aquila
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
32.13

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 86.9°
Max altitude: 41.6°
Azimuth: 273.1°
  • P/2016 J3 (STEREO) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-West direction at an altitude of 28.91° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, P/2016 J3 (STEREO) 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.

Finder Charts

Finder chart of P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
Sky map showing Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in Aquila on July, 29 2024. Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2016 J3 (STEREO)
RA: 20h 03m 18s
Dec: +03° 00’ 01”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) from Earth is currently 478,581,639.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.1991206610 Astronomical Units. Light takes 26m 36.377s to travel from Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) and arrive to us.

478,581,639.0
3.1991206610
26m 36.377s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) to Earth happens on Thu Nov 17 2072 at a distance of 0.350467 Astronomical Units, or 52,429,088 kilometers:

Thu Nov 17 2072
52,429,088
0.350467

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 P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3), 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) at epoch 13 January 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459228.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.81169143
Orbit inclination i 23.38406036°
Perihelion distance q 0.52636420 AU
78,742,963 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.06407920 AU
757,575,466 km
Semi-major axis a 2.79522170 AU
418,159,215 km
Orbital period period 4.6734 years
1,706.9579 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Jan-25 09:16:09
2,459,239.8862 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Sep-28 08:15
2,460,946.8441 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 210.73647687976°
Longitude of the ascending node node 257.78860525607°
Mean anomaly M 357.59862813385°
Mean motion n 0.21090151°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3)
View Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet P/2016 J3 (STEREO = 2021 A3) 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
2024 Jul 22 20h 11m 09s +03° 14’ 19” 32.22 Aquila
2024 Jul 23 20h 10m 13s +03° 13’ 16” 32.21 Aquila
2024 Jul 24 20h 09m 18s +03° 12’ 07” 32.20 Aquila
2024 Jul 25 20h 08m 22s +03° 10’ 49” 32.18 Aquila
2024 Jul 26 20h 07m 26s +03° 09’ 24” 32.17 Aquila
2024 Jul 27 20h 06m 30s +03° 07’ 53” 32.16 Aquila
2024 Jul 28 20h 05m 34s +03° 06’ 13” 32.14 Aquila
2024 Jul 29 20h 04m 38s +03° 04’ 26” 32.13 Aquila
2024 Jul 30 20h 03m 42s +03° 02’ 31” 32.12 Aquila
2024 Jul 31 20h 02m 46s +03° 00’ 31” 32.10 Aquila
2024 Aug 01 20h 01m 50s +02° 58’ 22” 32.09 Aquila
2024 Aug 02 20h 00m 55s +02° 56’ 06” 32.08 Aquila
2024 Aug 03 19h 59m 59s +02° 53’ 44” 32.07 Aquila
2024 Aug 04 19h 59m 04s +02° 51’ 16” 32.06 Aquila

Additional Resources