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Comet

Shoemaker-Levy

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135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.839 AU
True anomaly
198.29°
Distance from Earth
4.195 AU
As of
22 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Shoemaker-Levy — 4.839 AU from the Sun Shoemaker-Levy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Shoemaker-Levy is 4.195 AU from Earth today (34.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 34m 00s
Declination
+18° 42′ 58″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
4.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
125.84° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
3.828 AU
Eccentricity
0.2902
Inclination
6.05°
Orbital period
7.49 years
Perihelion
2.717 AU
Aphelion
4.939 AU
Longitude of ascending node
213.36°
Argument of periapsis
22.7°
Epoch · J2000
2450500.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 664.6 LD
1.7077 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.992

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
115
Data arc
30.08 years
First observed
30 March 1992
Last observed
29 April 2022
Residual RMS
0.76 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 March 2024

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.90 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 17
7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 135P · 135P/1992 G2 · 135P/1998 B1 · 1992 XV · 1992f

Named

Close approaches 14 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2047-05-17 04:06:00 Jupiter 0.4646 AU 180.8 LD 4.2 km/s
2047-05-17 04:06:00 Juptr 0.4646 AU 180.8 LD 4.2 km/s
2051-08-12 23:19:00 Juptr 1.39 AU 540.9 LD 2.7 km/s
2089-10-12 17:07:00 Juptr 1.7806 AU 693.0 LD 4.7 km/s
2127-09-18 15:49:00 Juptr 1.4045 AU 546.6 LD 2.6 km/s
2131-10-16 10:30:00 Juptr 0.6707 AU 261.0 LD 3.9 km/s
2155-02-13 19:49:00 Jupiter 0.3872 AU 150.7 LD 3.2 km/s
2155-02-13 19:49:00 Juptr 0.3872 AU 150.7 LD 3.2 km/s
2190-05-01 04:46:00 Juptr 0.3926 AU 152.8 LD 3.1 km/s
2190-05-01 04:46:00 Jupiter 0.3926 AU 152.8 LD 3.1 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources