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Comet Near-Earth

Shoemaker-Levy

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181P/Shoemaker-Levy 6

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.167 AU
True anomaly
193.09°
Distance from Earth
7.158 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 — 6.167 AU from the Sun Shoemaker-Levy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Shoemaker-Levy is 7.158 AU from Earth today (59.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 40m 24s
Declination
-06° 54′ 57″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
7.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.17° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
3.839 AU
Eccentricity
0.7073
Inclination
16.98°
Orbital period
7.52 years
Perihelion
1.124 AU
Aphelion
6.554 AU
Longitude of ascending node
37.68°
Argument of periapsis
333.8°
Epoch · J2000
2456908.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 60.8 LD
0.1564 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.517

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
88
Data arc
22.59 years
First observed
11 November 1991
Last observed
15 June 2014
Residual RMS
1.11 ″
Solution · Ryan S. Park
29 August 2014

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 17
16.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 181P · 181P/1991 V1 · 181P/1991b1 · 181P/2006 U4 · 1991 XVIII

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 13 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Shoemaker-Levy at 2067-10-06 00:38 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2067-10-06 00:38 UTC close approach of Shoemaker-Levy. Catalogue miss distance 169.6 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2067-10-03 to 2067-10-09, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 169.6 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km 2067-10-06 00:38 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2067-10-06 00:38 UTC close approach of Shoemaker-Levy. Catalogue miss distance 169.6 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2067-10-03 to 2067-10-09, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2040-07-13 11:12:00 Juptr 1.2752 AU 496.3 LD 6.7 km/s
2065-02-14 11:07:00 Juptr 0.7612 AU 296.2 LD 6.9 km/s
2067-10-06 00:38:00 Earth 0.4357 AU 169.6 LD 11.7 km/s
2088-12-22 22:55:00 Juptr 0.1673 AU 65.1 LD 8.4 km/s
2088-12-22 22:55:00 Jupiter 0.1673 AU 65.1 LD 8.4 km/s
2111-01-02 23:53:00 Juptr 1.4155 AU 550.9 LD 6.4 km/s
2141-10-01 14:05:00 Earth 0.379 AU 147.5 LD 8.4 km/s
2148-03-22 17:22:00 Jupiter 0.1597 AU 62.1 LD 8.6 km/s
2148-03-22 17:22:00 Juptr 0.1597 AU 62.1 LD 8.6 km/s

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

Sources