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Comet

LINEAR

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165P/LINEAR

LINEAR is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 6.83 AU to 29.27 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 76.69 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
27.177 AU
True anomaly
162.39°
Distance from Earth
27.384 AU
As of
24 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth LINEAR — 27.177 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 27.384 AU from Earth today (3.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 26m 55s
Declination
-37° 02′ 24″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
27.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
76.58° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
18.05 AU
Eccentricity
0.6216
Inclination
15.91°
Orbital period
76.69 years
Perihelion
6.83 AU
Aphelion
29.27 AU
Longitude of ascending node
0.64°
Argument of periapsis
126.21°
Epoch · J2000
2452114.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 2,285.3 LD
5.8721 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.095

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
143
Data arc
3.31 years
First observed
2 January 2000
Last observed
25 April 2003
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
5.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 165P · 165P/2000 B4

Named

Sources