5,688 days ago
Dominic Ford, Editor
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Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) will make its closest approach to the Sun on 1 July, at a distance of 0.42 AU.
From South El Monte on the day of perihelion it will not be readily observable since it will be very close to the Sun, at a separation of only 14° from it.
The events that comprise the 2010 apparition of C/2009 R1 (McNaught) are as follows:
| Date | Event |
| 14 Jun 2010 | Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) passes perigee |
| 01 Jul 2010 | Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) passes perihelion |
The table below lists the times when C/2009 R1 (McNaught) will be visible from South El Monte day-by-day through its apparition:
| Date | Constellation | Comet visibility |
| 10 Jun 2010 | Perseus | Visible from 03:56 until 04:27 Highest at 04:27, 22° above NE horizon |
| 12 Jun 2010 | Perseus | Visible from 04:06 until 04:27 Highest at 04:27, 20° above NE horizon |
| 14 Jun 2010 | Perseus | Visible from 04:18 until 04:28 Highest at 04:28, 18° above NE horizon |
| 16 Jun 2010 | Perseus | Not observable |
| 18 Jun 2010 | Perseus | Not observable |
| 20 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 22 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 24 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 26 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 28 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 30 Jun 2010 | Auriga | Not observable |
| 02 Jul 2010 | Gemini | Not observable |
| 04 Jul 2010 | Gemini | Not observable |
| 06 Jul 2010 | Gemini | Not observable |
| 08 Jul 2010 | Gemini | Not observable |
| 10 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
| 12 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
| 14 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
| 16 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
| 18 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
| 20 Jul 2010 | Cancer | Not observable |
A more detailed table of C/2009 R1 (McNaught)'s position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of C/2009 R1 (McNaught) is available here.
Finder chart
The chart below shows the path of C/2009 R1 (McNaught) over the course of its apparition, as calculated from the orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). It is available for download, either on dark background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats, or on a light background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats. It was produced using StarCharter.
Comet brightnesses
Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, since their brightness depends on the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the comet's coma and tail. This dust is continually streaming away from the comet's nucleus, and its density at any particular time is governed by the rate of sublimation of the ice in the comet's nucleus, as it is heated by the Sun's rays. It also depends on the amount of dust that is mixed in with that ice. This is very difficult to predict in advance, and can be highly variable even between successive apparitions of the same comet.
In consequence, while the future positions of comets are usually known with a high degree of confidence, their future brightnesses are not. For most comets, we do not publish any magnitude estimates at all. For the few comets where we do make estimates, we generally prefer the BAA's magnitude parameters to those published by the Minor Planet Center, since they are typically updated more often.
No estimate for the brightness of comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) is currently available.
The comet's position at perihelion will be:
| Object | Right Ascension | Declination | Constellation | Magnitude |
| Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) | 07h14m40s | 36°02'N | Auriga | 4.4 |
The coordinates are given in J2000.0.
The sky on 26 Jan 2026
| The sky on 26 January 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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64% 8 days old |
All times shown in PST.
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Warning
Never attempt to point a pair of binoculars or a telescope at an object close to the Sun. Doing so may result in immediate and permanent blindness.
Source
This event was automatically generated on the basis of orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) , and is updated whenever new elements become available. It was last updated on 15 Dec 2025.
Image credit
© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.