© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

Comet 210P/Christensen passes perihelion

Dominic Ford, Editor
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Comet 210P/Christensen will make its closest approach to the Sun on 22 November, at a distance of 0.53 AU.

From Ashburn 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 19° from it.

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The events that comprise the 2025 apparition of 210P/Christensen are as follows:

Date Event
22 Nov 2025Comet 210P/Christensen passes perihelion

The table below lists the times when 210P/Christensen will be visible from Ashburn day-by-day through its apparition:

Date Constellation Comet visibility
01 Nov 2025ScorpiusNot observable
03 Nov 2025ScorpiusNot observable
05 Nov 2025LupusNot observable
07 Nov 2025LupusNot observable
09 Nov 2025LupusNot observable
11 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
13 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
15 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
17 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
19 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
21 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
23 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
25 Nov 2025LibraNot observable
27 Nov 2025VirgoNot observable
29 Nov 2025VirgoNot observable
01 Dec 2025VirgoNot observable
03 Dec 2025VirgoNot observable
05 Dec 2025LibraNot observable
07 Dec 2025LibraNot observable
09 Dec 2025LibraVisible from 05:57 until 06:06
Highest at 06:06, 23° above SE horizon
11 Dec 2025LibraVisible from 05:51 until 06:07
Highest at 06:07, 25° above SE horizon

A more detailed table of 210P/Christensen's position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of 210P/Christensen is available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of 210P/Christensen 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.

Based on the magnitude parameters published for this comet by the BAA Comet Section, we estimate that it may be around mag 10 on 22 November 2025. This estimate is based on observations that the BAA has received from amateur astronomers, assuming that its current level of activity will remain constant.

You will probably require a telescope to see this comet. It is unlikely to be visible through bird-watching binoculars, and even less likely to be visible to the unaided eye.

The comet's position at perihelion will be:

Object Right Ascension Declination Constellation Magnitude
Comet 210P/Christensen 14h29m10s 17°32'S Libra 10.0

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 22 Nov 2025

The sky on 22 November 2025
Sunrise
06:58
Sunset
16:50
Twilight ends
18:24
Twilight begins
05:24

2-day old moon
Waxing Crescent

7%

2 days old

Planets
Rise Culm. Set
Mercury 06:30 11:33 16:36
Venus 06:04 11:11 16:18
Moon 09:25 13:50 18:16
Mars 08:04 12:47 17:30
Jupiter 20:32 03:49 11:06
Saturn 13:56 19:45 01:34
All times shown in EST.

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 16 Sep 2024.

Image credit

© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

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