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Comet

Shoemaker-Levy

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145P/Shoemaker-Levy 5

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.891 AU
True anomaly
88.54°
Distance from Earth
3.16 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 — 2.891 AU from the Sun Shoemaker-Levy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Shoemaker-Levy is 3.16 AU from Earth today (26.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 01m 49s
Declination
+22° 56′ 16″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
65.8° — 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
4.142 AU
Eccentricity
0.5407
Inclination
11.26°
Orbital period
8.43 years
Perihelion
1.902 AU
Aphelion
6.381 AU
Longitude of ascending node
26.8°
Argument of periapsis
10.29°
Epoch · J2000
2458777.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 354.2 LD
0.9101 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.728

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,434
Data arc
34.52 years
First observed
12 September 1991
Last observed
20 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15.3
11.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 145P · 145P/1991 T1 · 145P/2000 R1 · 1991 XXII · 1991z

Named

Close approaches 12 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-12-11 02:43:00 Juptr 0.5227 AU 203.4 LD 5.3 km/s
2052-05-31 03:18:00 Juptr 0.8162 AU 317.6 LD 7.9 km/s
2089-10-06 12:37:00 Juptr 0.8965 AU 348.9 LD 5.1 km/s
2111-09-07 17:04:00 Juptr 1.1632 AU 452.7 LD 8.9 km/s
2147-03-30 16:48:00 Juptr 0.4548 AU 177.0 LD 5.4 km/s
2147-03-30 16:48:00 Jupiter 0.4548 AU 177.0 LD 5.4 km/s
2171-01-28 11:34:00 Juptr 1.9668 AU 765.4 LD 11 km/s

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

Sources