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Sunrise: 5:03 
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Comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 2:33 | Tran: 8:15 | Set: 13:55
Alt: -33.36°   Az: 314.94°   Direction: North-West

Comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) is in the constellation of Eridanus, at a distance of 354,625,376.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 02h 53m 19s and the Declination is -03° 36’ 23” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 15.62.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) in the constellation of Eridanus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos)
RA: 02h 52m 02s
Dec: -03° 42’ 37”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

02h 53m 19s
-03° 36’ 23”
09h 34m 41s
12h 28m 00s

J2000

02h 52m 02s
-03° 42’ 37”

Additional Information

Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
15.62

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 93.4°
Max altitude: 35.1°
Azimuth: 266.5°

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 C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Earth is currently 354,625,376.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.3705242216 Astronomical Units. Light takes 19m 42.903s to travel from comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) and arrive to us.

354,625,376.0
2.3705242216
19m 42.903s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) to Earth will happen on Sunday 31 August 2025 at a distance of 2.171529 Astronomical Units, or 324,856,068 kilometers:

Sunday 31 August 2025
324,856,068
2.171529

Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) at epoch May, 08 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460439.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.98778194
Orbit inclination i 79.28867326°
Perihelion distance q 1.81044617 AU
270,838,892 km
Aphelion distance Q 294.54529918 AU
44,063,349,670 km
Semi-major axis a 148.17787267 AU
22,167,094,281 km
Orbital period period 1,803.7786 years
658,830.1418 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp March 19, 2025
2,460,754.2211 JD
Next perihelion transit January 11, 3829
3,119,584.3629 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 143.16241960928°
Longitude of the ascending node node 189.0549188807°
Mean anomaly M 359.82802912203°
Mean motion n 0.00054642°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos) 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
Jul 09 2025 02h 44m 28s -00° 44’ 26” 15.49 Cetus
Jul 10 2025 02h 45m 39s -01° 05’ 50” 15.51 Cetus
Jul 11 2025 02h 46m 50s -01° 27’ 31” 15.53 Eridanus
Jul 12 2025 02h 48m 00s -01° 49’ 29” 15.54 Eridanus
Jul 13 2025 02h 49m 10s -02° 11’ 43” 15.56 Eridanus
Jul 14 2025 02h 50m 18s -02° 34’ 13” 15.58 Eridanus
Jul 15 2025 02h 51m 26s -02° 57’ 00” 15.60 Eridanus
Jul 16 2025 02h 52m 33s -03° 20’ 04” 15.61 Eridanus
Jul 17 2025 02h 53m 38s -03° 43’ 24” 15.63 Eridanus
Jul 18 2025 02h 54m 43s -04° 07’ 01” 15.65 Eridanus
Jul 19 2025 02h 55m 47s -04° 30’ 55” 15.67 Eridanus
Jul 20 2025 02h 56m 50s -04° 55’ 05” 15.68 Eridanus
Jul 21 2025 02h 57m 52s -05° 19’ 34” 15.70 Eridanus
Jul 22 2025 02h 58m 53s -05° 44’ 19” 15.72 Eridanus

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